On September 3rd, the veteran Meng Bo will face the rising prospect Ritu Phogat in the opening round of ONE Championship’s Atomweight tournament. As a veteran at only 25 years old, Bo is looking to not only win the tournament but to then win the championship. In doing so, she will add to the growing achievements of her fellow Chinese female fighters and in doing so, help the sport grow.
Her Impact on Martial Arts in China
You can learn a lot about person simply by asking them to describe themselves. In Bo Meng’s case, she says that she was destined to be different. Born to a small farming village in China, she started training in martial arts when she was 13 and hasn’t stopped since. When speaking about her experience training while growing up, she went on to say, “It’s not just every day. It [was] my whole youth. I spent all my time training. It’s part of my body, an indispensable part.”
After training throughout her childhood and then going to a prestigious martial arts university, Bo made her pro-debut. In an almost unbelievable string of events, she fought Weili Zhang and Yanan Wu in her first two fights, both of whom went on to join the UFC, with Zhang becoming the Straweight champion.
In fact Zhang, Wu, and Bo all made their debuts in 2013. Once former opponents, the three have been bringing attention to the sport, back in their native China. This has led to some interesting developments, like the UFC’s rumored 100,000 million dollar media rights deal with Migu. Also, it is not just the UFC or Zhang. On international women’s day, Xinhua, the largest news agency in China, released a video called Women Warriors: Fighting to be Heard, a short documentary about two fighters, Bo and Long Sixiu. According to Bo, in an interview with the South China Morning Post, the video has been watched over 1.4 million times in China.
The Upcoming Tournament
In roughly a week, ONE’s Atomweight tournament will be underway. In the opening round, a mixture of prospects and veterans will face off. With over 20 professional MMA fights, Bo is clearly a veteran. She has the 2nd most MMA fights and 3rd longest career of those in the tournament. In fact, her current 7 fight win streak alone represents more fights than half the participants have under their belt. In the opening round, she is set to face the Indian wrestler, Ritu Phogat. With a record of 4-1 and less than 2 years MMA experience, Ritu is clearly a prospect. However, she recently rebounded from her first defeat and defeated Heqin Lin, another Chinese veteran. Coincidentally, Lin fought Bo in her professional debut nearly 6 years ago, making her the only common opponent between the two.
When asked about the upcoming fight, Bo commented, “My own goal is to knock her out, but nobody knows what will happen in the real fight…It depends on performance — I’ll try my best to win by KO.” She then went on to add, “I think the most important thing to prepare is takedown defense. She’s much better at takedown skills than striking. My wrestling skills are not bad, either, but stand-up is still my strength.”
When asked about the tournament itself, she offered the following, “I’m participating in this Grand Prix because I want to win the [Grand Prix] Championship first, then have the chance to challenge for the real World Championship — and to beat Angela Lee… Once I defeat Ritu in the Grand Prix, then I can continue the championship journey in the following matches. Besides, a victorious start will make me more confident, physically and mentally.”
Meng Bo will be fighting Ritu Phogat on September 3rd at ONE Championship: Empower, in Singapore.
How to watch
- US: Bleacher Report, B/R App, or B/R’s YouTube channel
- China: Great Sports or iQiYi
- India: Disney + Hotstar or Star Sports Select 1
- Japan: Abema TV
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