ONE Championship: Jenelyn Olsim still optimistic after losing to Ritu Phogat

Jenelyn Olsim replaced Itsuki Hirata at ONE: NextGen. She lost to Ritu Phogat during the ONE women's atomweight Grand Prix semi-finals. The Team Lakay fighter was dominated by 'The Indian Tigress' but remains upbeat after the unanimous decision loss.

Despite the loss, Olsim feels good to have participated in the Grand Prix.

"I feel so great and I’m very happy to be a part of this historic moment," said Olsim during the post-fight interview. "This is a very life-changing bout for me because at least I have reached this far. And I know that I gave my best in every training and that I have achieved to become a part of this Grand Prix even though I lost. I think it means I need to train more and gain more experience."

The defeat to Phogat was Olsim's third loss in seven professional MMA bouts and her second in ONE Championship. Prior to this fight, Olsim was able to secure wins over Maira Mazar and Bi Nguyen.

---

The silver lining during ONE: NextGen

This was Olsim's first loss since shifting from strawweight to the atomweight division. Considering the circumstances under which she came into the bout, the Filipino fighter is happy with her performance.

"I think I’m very proud of my performance today. It was [given at] a very short notice, like 4 days and my opponent changed," said Olsim. "Yeah, some of the game plans [were] changed but of course, I also got excited because is the Grand Prix and I believe that it’s an opportunity, it’s a bigger opportunity for me then why not accept it even though it’s a change in opponents or whatever it is as long as it’s an opportunity, I will accept it."

Olsim was initially slated to take on Jihin Radzuan at ONE: NextGen II on November 12 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. The fight was supposed to be a battle for an alternate spot in the ONE women's atomweight Grand Prix. However, she had to fight Phogat at ONE: NextGen after a fever ruled Itsuki Hirata out of the contest.