Meng Bo vs. Ritu Phogat
Ritu Phogat looked unstoppable in ONE Championship right up until an upset loss to Bi Nguyen.
With Empower originally booked for May, Phogat’s loss a month earlier appeared to dash her hopes of taking part in the grand prix. With the coronvirus pandemic pushing the card back, however, it allowed Phogat to get back in the cage — where she picked up a win over Lin Heqin.
Now 5-1 as a pro, the Indian wrestler who won gold at the Commonwealth Wrestling Championship looks to shake off any lingering effects of her first pro loss. Her wrestling is almost certainly the strongest in the grand prix, and she’ll need to rely on it heavily to advance in the tournament.
Meng Bo, meanwhile, is a fighter who just doesn’t seem to get the respect she deserves. Up until Rose Namajunas knocked her senseless with a head kick, Bo was the only blemish on the record of Weili Zhang. With her own record sitting at 17-5, Bo has not lost since 2018 and has been perfect in her ONE career thus far. Itsuki Hirata among others have named Bo as the fighter they expect to see make it to the atomweight grand prix final.
Among Bo’s losses are two against UFC alum Wu Yanan, and another to current UFC fighter Liliya Shakirova. While the Zhang win came while both were making their pro debuts, Bo has finished two of her three ONE opponents to date.
