Conor McGregor heaps praise on India, roots for Ritu Phogat for One Championships title

UFC icon Conor McGregor has heaped praise on India while wishing them on the occasion of Diwali on Thursday. Apart from sending his festive wishes to India and the people of the country, McGregor has also given special mention to one of the stars Indian Mixed Martial Artists.

Conor McGregor Diwali

Taking to the micro-blogging site, the former UFC Champion wished all the people of India a very happy and prosperous Diwali.

In another tweet, he mentioned "India invented chess. Invented Yoga. They even thought us how to count. Einstein said we owe a lot to the Indians. There is even a golden temple in India that feeds 100,000 people a day for FREE!"

At the same time, he also lauded Indian Mixed Martial Artist sensation Ritu Phogat who has been enjoying an outstanding run at the One Championships.

The Indian MMA icon Ritu Phogat scripted another outstanding victory in the ONE Championship on Friday as she defeated Jenelyn Olsim in the semi-finals of the ONE Atomweight Grand Prix last week. Phogat won the bout via a unanimous decision to set up a fight with Stamp Fairtex from Thailand at the Grand Prix final on December 3.

After defeating Meng Bo in the first round, Phogat was supposed to face undefeated Itsuku Hirata from Japan in the semi-finals. However, with Hirata having a high fever just a few days before the fight, she had to pull out from the tournament. As a result, Olsim, who beat Bi Nguyen, stepped up on short notice to fight Phogat.

Although Jenelyn Olsim began the fight on a positive note by landing a couple of strikes, Ritu Phogat fought back impressively and turned the bout around in her favour. Phogat got hold of Olsim on various occasions and eventually also landed the takedown on multiple occasions.

In the first round, the Indian wrestler got multiple takedowns and frustrated Olsim by avoiding her attacks. As a result, an angry Olsim committed a foul towards the end of the round by landing a kick on Phogat's face. As per the One Championship rules, fighters are permitted to give blows to the head using their knees, but not kicks. Phogat then received some time to recover because of the illegal attack, with Olsim getting a warning from the referee for the same.

Phogat continued her dominance in a similar fashion in both the second and third rounds to pick up the win over Olsim. Because of the Indians' sheer dominance, the judges did not hesitate to award her the win via a unanimous decision. Consequently of the win, Phogat's record in pro-MMA has improved to 7-1.

The road ahead for Ritu Phogat

After an iconic victory, Phogat will now face Stamp Fairtex in the Atomweight Grand Prix final on December 3. The winner of that bout will earn the right to challenge ONE Atomweight Champion Angela Lee for the world championship belt.