You started good against a Indian fighter and that’s why you’ll end up bleeding
Anshul Jubli
Anshul Jubli, AKA king of lions has made history with this win against Jeka Saragih of Indonesia. This proud Indian mixed martial artist defeated the Indonesian fighter in the Road to UFC finals and has earn a lightweight division UFC win on Sunday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
After winning in Las Vegas, the fighter from Delhi became the second UFC fighter from India, joining Bharat Khandare. Jubin had very few supporters, but the Indian fighter still outperformed the odds and won the popular vote.
When life presents a challenge, knock it down with a punch, and that is exactly what this indian fighter said to his opponent in the ring.
Who Is Anshul Jubli?
The “Road to UFC” lightweight tournament winner comes from a very humble family. Anshul Jhubli is the son of a former Border Security Force (BSF) officer, and is a native of the village of Bhatwari near the city of Uttarkashi, Uttrakhand.
Due to his father’s moves, he spent his early years in a number of different states. After a protracted period of relocation, his family finally made Dehradun their home.
Introduction to A New World
2015 marked Anshul Jubli’s first exposure to mixed martial arts and the UFC, much thanks to his friend’s older brother. Just like his father. he wanted to serve the nation and join the army. But while preparing for the entrance exam of defence he started secretly loving this newfound passion as well.
And in no time he found his passion for the newly explored art. He learned several MMA fighting techniques in just four years of formal training, including Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ), wrestling, grappling, boxing, kickboxing, etc.
By 2017, the seed of becoming a UFC fighter was already sowed in his heart and in fact, started sprouting. His day would start with him going to a boxing gym, then studying for his CDS and SSB exams after lunch, and it ended with a trip to a friend’s house to watch YouTube videos of renowned MMA coaches John Danaher and Firas Zahabi in the evening.
After watching these videos, Anshul and his friend would imitate some of the BJJ moves shown in them. At the time, Dehradun lacked any official MMA coaches, so the only source of knowledge and a platform for skill development there was YouTube videos.
He would do online research on various MMA specialities every night before bed.
His sense of patriotism was strong forever. He initially thought that joining the military was the best way to serve the country. But fate had other plans for this passionate man. Despite passing the CDS (Combined Defence Services) exam, he failed the SSB (Services Selection Board) interview.
He initially only intended to take up combat sports in order to add some credentials to his military recruitment application. But in Dehradun, he had a conversation with an army colonel that caused him to change his mind.
After patiently listening, the colonel suggested that his true calling, however, was in combat sports.
When fate plans your life, the puzzle automatically comes together. He gradually grew more enamoured with the ring game and quickly made the decision to actually give his passion a chance to succeed.
Money was a big obstacle in this love story, even though his passion was genuine and the love was unwavering. Passion is hard to fulfil when you have no money. Being from a humble family, Anshul Jubli found it challenging to spend the money necessary for his future training and the road ahead.
But when love is sincere, giving up is unthinkable. Anshul Jubli began taking math lessons during the day to support his passion while also participating in amateur fights.
Due to the lack of official training facilities, considering practising MMA full-time in Dehradun was difficult.
He learned about the Crosstrain Fight Club (CFC), a Delhi-based MMA gym where some of India’s top professional fighters train, from another friend. This friend was travelling to Delhi to train at CFC and had aspirations of becoming a professional fighter as well.
With a little self-assurance and some savings, Anshul Jubli and his friend left their hometown to forge a new path in life.
New life
In April 2018, he left for Delhi. But due to some family problems, Anshu’s friend left him in the middle of their journey, and he was forced to move into a one-room apartment with three other people because he lacked the resources and tools necessary to survive in the new city.
His financial situation made the journey even more difficult; all of his savings quickly ran out due to the high cost of living in a big city. His friends were the ones who stood by him and contributed money to his passion.
By paying registration fees for fights that never happened in the established fight clubs, he frequently lost money. He would borrow money from his friends to pay for the fights, but he would almost always come home empty-handed. He would often get dishearted but never heartbroken. he still continued his quest and rose to promises step by step.
Despite his early failures, Anshul could take comfort in the fact that he had already spent months in a demanding training programme. He had reclaimed his self-assurance and fighting spirit, and he was eager to engage in fresh combats.
Anshul Jubli finally found his chance to fame, thanks to the second Matrix Fight Night (MFN), which is regarded as India’s largest professional MMA promotion, founded by Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff, his sister Krishna Shroff, and mother Ayesha Shroff.
Anshul made his professional debut in less than a year and quickly established himself as the top amateur player. And hereafter there was no going back for this fighter in the ring and in life.
Made History
Anshul Jubli, made history on Sunday when he joined Bharat Khandare as the second Indian to sign a contract with the UFC. Anshul defeated Indonesian Jeka Saragih in round two of the lightweight division in 3 minutes and 44 seconds to claim the Road to UFC victory. Anshul has a perfect 7-0 record in his professional career and is anticipated to excel in the UFC.
In the frantic two-round fight, Anshul was the one who struck first and tried to establish his superiority. After Jeka attempted to mock him by making silly faces at the beginning of the first round, the Indian immediately turned the tables on him by tussling with him and punching him in the face.
In a post-game interview, Anshul stated that he intended to continue working hard and getting better and that the Indians deserved to be in the UFC.
Anshul Jubli has teamed up with Paradigm Sports Management, the same company that represents Conor McGregor and Israel Adesanya, two of the best UFC athletes.
There are many good things coming to India, as this Indian fighter still has more success to bring back home.
Feature Image – Instagram
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