What is next for Ritu Phogat? 3 Potential Fights that ONE Championship can make

Ritu Phogat has already made her mark in ONE Championship. Despite her loss in the ONE Atomweight Grand Prix final against Stamp Fairtex, Ritu has managed to cement her spot in the top five of the ONE Atomweight division and the future looks bright for the Indian Tigress.

Now that the ONE Atomweight Grand Prix is in the books, the next obvious question that people would be asking is: What is next for Ritu Phogat in ONE Championship?

There are some interesting fights in the division for Ritu and it could just be a matter of a huge win before Ritu gets her hands on the title shot that she has been looking for. With that said, here are three opponents that could be next for Ritu.

Bi Nguyen

Bi Nguyen and Ritu Phogat have some scores to settle. The first match between the two ended in favor of Nguyen but there was a lot of buzz on the internet regarding the result. A good portion of the fanbase thought that Ritu had won the fight and this opened up the door for a potential rematch.

ALSO READ | Stamp Fairtex wins ONE Atomweight Grand Prix, defeats Ritu Phogat

Nguyen is currently sitting on a loss against Jenelyn Olsim and it makes sense to book the rematch between the two now that Ritu is also on a one-fight losing streak. All the debates that came up after the first fight could be put to bed with a second showdown between Ritu and Nguyen.

Itsuki Hirata

Itsuki Hirata was the original semi-final opponent for Ritu Phogat at the ONE Atomweight Grand Prix. The fight, however, fell through as Hirata had to pull out due to some health issues. Now that the Grand Prix is over, this would be a good time to rebook the fight considering the amount of hype it had.

Despite her undefeated run, Itsuki is yet to break into the top-five in the division and a fight with Ritu Phogat makes sense for the Japanese star. As for Ritu, it would be another huge match to cement her spot in the rankings and move closer to the title shot. The Judo of Hirata vs. the wrestling of Ritu is bound to be a treat for the fans.

Denice Zamboanga

Currently ranked first in the ONE Atomweight Division, Denice Zamboanga had a controversial exit from the ONE Atomweight Grand Prix. She lost to Seo Hee Ham via a split decision in the Grand Prix opener and though the fight went to review, it was ruled in favor of Ham.

Despite her loss, Denice managed to keep her spot in the rankings intact and if we go by the rankings, she is next in line for the title shot after the Stamp Fairtex vs. Angela Lee showdown. However, rather than letting Denice wait, ONE Championship could book a showdown between Denice and Ritu as a title eliminator on the same card as Stamp vs. Angela.

ALSO READ | Ritu Phogat draws inspiration from Khabib ahead of Itsuki Hirata fight

What are your thoughts on these three matches? Let us know in the comment section of the article below.

---

You can download the LockerRoom India mobile app available on the Google Playstore and the App Store for all the latest news and updates from the Combat Sports World

LEAVE A COMMENT

Please login to leave a comment

0 Comments