Indian MMA fighter Anshul Jubli will feature in the Road to UFC final at the UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas on February 5.
Follow UFC Fight Night 218 LIVE here
PREVIEW
Anshul will take on Indonesia’s Jeka Saragih in the lightweight division final of the tournament during the UFC Vegas 68 event. The Road to UFC event, which marked its return after seven years in 2022, presents a ‘win and advance’ opportunity to the best Asian MMA fighters across four weight divisions: flyweight, bantamweight, featherweight and lightweight.
Anshul could become only the second Indian-born fighter after Bharat Khandare to bag a UFC contract with a win in Vegas.
While it was stated earlier that the finals would take place in a fight card in Seoul in early February, Anshul and his coach Siddharth Singh confirmed the change of venue to Sportstar on Sunday.
“Anshul will be fighting in the final in Vegas, the venue was confirmed to us earlier this week. Our preparations are going on in full swing, and we have put several strategies for the fight in place already,” coach Siddharth told from New Delhi.
The tournament began with 32 fighters in June 2022. Anshul qualified for the semifinal after his Japanese opponent Patrick Sho Usami was removed due to weight management issues.
Anshul then became the first Indian-born fighter to win a bout in the UFC Octagon during his semifinal in November 2022 in Abu Dhabi. The 27-year-old registered a 29-28, 28-29, 29-28 split-decision win over South Korea’s Kyung Pyo Kim to progress.
Anshul is currently preparing for the pivotal bout at the Soma Fight Club in Bali, Indonesia. He will be joined by his coach next week before the two fly out to Vegas later this month.
The Uttarakhand-born Anshul made his MMA debut in 2015 and has been undefeated across the Amateur and Pro Levels. He is currently on a six-match winning streak in the Professional circuit.
His opponent Saragih holds a strong 13-2 record with five successive wins since 2020, including four knockout finishes and a decision victory. Saragih had also wiped out Anshul’s compatriot, Pawan Maan Singh, with a spinning back fist KO in the quarterfinal in June last year.
-Lalith Kalidas
ROAD TO FINALS BOUT
- ⦿Lightweight: Jeka Saragih vs Anshul Jubli
- ⦿Flyweight: Seung Guk Choi vs Hyun-Sung Park
- ⦿Bantamweight: Toshiomi Kazama vs Rinya Nakamura
- ⦿Featherweight: Yi Zha vs Jung-Young Lee
