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Ritu Phogat revealed MMA "stayed on her mind" during her recent two-and-a-half-year layoff from competition. Life has changed dramatically for Phogat since her last fight in September 2022, a first-round submission loss against Tiffany Teo.
The ONE women's atomweight MMA contender gave birth to her child but never lost her love for the sport.
During an interview with ONE, Phogat had this to say about how she stayed involved in MMA while adding a new member to her family:
"When you truly love something, it stays on your mind, no matter how far you are from it. During this time, I never stopped my workouts. I always followed a good diet and kept watching fights. This was an important part of my journey."
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Ritu Phogat made her ONE Championship debut in November 2019, winning her first four fights by the end of 2020.
Phogat endured her first promotional loss against Bi Nguyen in May 2021 before rattling off three more wins.
The beloved Indian-born fighter has since suffered consecutive defeats against Stamp Fairtex and Tiffany Teo, pushing her promotional record to 7-3.
Ritu Phogat returns to MMA action at ONE 171: Qatar
On February 20, Ritu Phogat will end her extended layoff when she returns at ONE 171: Qatar.
Phogat has an opportunity to reestablish her presence in the ONE women's atomweight MMA division, as she's been matched up against number three-ranked Ayaka Miura.
Miura enters ONE 171, riding a three-fight winning streak against Meng Bo (first-round submission), Itsuki Hirata (unanimous decision), and Macarena Aragon (first-round submission).
With a win later this week, Miura could be next in line to fight world champion Stamp Fairtex or interim title holder Denice Zamboanga, who are expected to battle for the undisputed women's atomweight MMA world title
ONE 171 goes down inside the Lusail Sports Arena in Lusail, Qatar.
The upcoming event will showcase two world title fights - Joshua Pacio vs. Jarred Brooks 3 (strawweight MMA unification main event) and Jonathan Haggerty vs. Wei Rui (bantamweight kickboxing co-main event).
ONE 171 also features Dagi Arslanaliev vs. Roberto Soldic (welterweight MMA), Ilia Ennahachi vs. Petchtanong (bantamweight kickboxing), Shamil Erdogan vs. Aung La N Sang (middleweight MMA), and more.
