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Ritu Phogat opened up about his family being her "biggest inspiration." In September 2022, Phogat made her latest appearance in ONE Championship, a first-round submission loss against Tiffany Teo for her second consecutive defeat.
Phogat has been sidelined for the last two and a half years to focus on her family. The women's atomweight MMA fighter gave birth for the first time in 2024.
Later this week, Phogat will make her highly-anticipated MMA return against number three-ranked atomweight Ayaka Miura. During an interview with ONE, Phogat had this to say about the importance of her family motivating her to make a comeback:
"Family plays a huge role. Initially, there was one family, and now I have two. My biggest inspiration has been my family. It was my family who motivated me to make my comeback."
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Ayaka Miura vs. Ritu Phogat is scheduled for ONE 171: Qatar, which will take place on Feb. 20 at the Lusail Sports Arena in Lusail.
A strawweight MMA unification world title bout between Joshua Pacio and interim title-holder Jarred Brooks headlines Thursday's event. Pacio vs. Brooks 3 is one of two world title matchups at ONE 171.
In the co-main event, Jonathan Haggerty looks to extend his bantamweight kickboxing title reign against seasoned veteran Wei Rui.
ONE 171 also features Kade Ruotolo vs. Nicolas Vigna (catchweight MMA), Bibiano Fernandes vs. Kevin Belingon 5 (bantamweight MMA), and more.
Ayaka Miura plans to improve title picture presence with win against Ritu Phogat
Ayaka Miura enters ONE 171 with momentum after securing consecutive wins against Meng Bo (first-round submission), Itsuki Hirata (unanimous decision), and Macarena Arahon (first-round submission).
Miura's impressive run has earned her the number three ranking in the women's atomweight division, potentially putting her one win away from a title shot.
Meanwhile, Ritu Phogat plans to end Miura's winning streak and re-solidify herself as a top contender.
In the meantime, Stamp Fairtex is looking to regain its undisputed world champion status after being laid off for an extended period due to a torn MCL.
Stamp is expected to face her close friend and former training partner Denice Zamboanga, who captured the interim title on Jan. 10.
