Ritu Phogat, an Indian wrestler turned MMA star, was defeated by Singapore's Tiffany Teo in an atomweight match at the ONE Championship's ONE 161 event in Singapore on Thursday. Tiffany won by submission with a rear-naked choke with eight seconds left in the first round. The 28-year-old had not competed in the Championship since her loss to Stamp Fairtex in the atomweight championship final on December 3, 2021.
Meanwhile, Tiffany Teo was making her debut in the atomweight division after previously competing in the strawweight level twice. Teo's second fight of the year came after a stunning choke submission finish over Chinese knockout artist Meng Bo at ONE: Heavy Hittaers.
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Teo previously indicated in an exclusive interview with ONE Championship that she was not concerned about Phogat's extensive wrestling background, saying, "Specialists inadvertently shoot themselves in the foot by relying solely on their bread and butter to end fights, a strategy Teo typically likes to exploit."
The two-time strawweight title contender filled it with ease. Teo was facing the cage as Phogat worked for the single leg, but the opponent grabbed her left arm and appeared to sink. Teo tried to grab Phogat's right arm and lock in a kimura, but she was able to take the Indian's back from there. With three minutes left in the round, the Singaporean had the upper hand.
The tap came at the 4:52 mark with Teo securing the fifth submission win of her career. She improves to 11-2 and moves immediately into atomweight title contention while Phogat drops to 7-3.
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