New Delhi: Beneath the unforgiving glare of the UFC highlight in Sydney on Sunday, India’s Anshul Jubli will likely be combating for extra than simply his first win. It’ll be a struggle to determine his legacy as solely the second Indian combined martial artist to get the UFC contract.
Anshul Jubli in motion throughout the UFC 294 occasion at Etihad Enviornment final October in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Zuffa LLC through Getty Pictures)
Regardless of the stress of all of it, the Uttarakhand-native is feeling robust forward of his second struggle within the greatest MMA promotion on the earth.
Preventing towards Australia’s personal Quillan Salkilld in UFC 312 within the early prelims light-weight division with colossal dwelling assist behind Salkilld is sure to be an unfamiliar expertise however Jubli is raring to go.
“I haven’t experienced playing at someone’s home ground before, so every night before bed, I put on my earphones and listen to the sound of booing,” Jubli instructed HT in an interview facilitated by official broadcasters Sony Sports activities. “My visualisation is that people are booing while I’m focusing on the fight.”
Salkilld, a winner at Dana White’s Contender Sequence, mirrors Jubli in some ways. Each fighters share an similar 7-1-0 (W-L-D) report and stand 1.83m tall. Nonetheless, Salkilld holds a slight edge in attain, measuring 1.91 cm in comparison with Jubli’s 1.75 cm. Regardless of this, Jubli has a method in place to counteract that benefit.
“If I’m standing still, his reach might be better. But if I’m creating angles and managing distance, his reach won’t make a difference. I won’t be playing to his advantage,” added Jubli.
Past sharing comparable bodily attributes, the fighters even have a comparable combating type. Each mix grappling and hanging seamlessly, making this a really perfect match-up for Jubli to showcase his well-rounded MMA talent set.
“When he gets hit, he goes for a takedown,” defined Jubli. “I believe my fighting style is similar to his, but mine is more refined. I’ve also added power to my shots. I now throw long, powerful combinations and focused on that during bag and pad work with Coach Mike (Ikilei).
Jubli’s grappling coach Siddharth Singh detailed the work the team has put in. From the usual film study of the opponent to fight strategy, he urges Jubli to emphasize sticking to a “bell to bell” combating mentality and maintain combating whatever the scenario.
This time round, some modifications have been the necessity of the hour after Jubli’s loss to USA’s Mike Breeden in his debut struggle in UFC 294 in October 2023. After just about dominating within the first two rounds, Jubli was knocked out with a giant proper hand in Spherical 3.
“My biggest issue with Anshul’s last fight was probably me,” Singh instructed HT on the Crosstrain Battle Membership. “I had a protracted dialog with him as a result of he stated he didn’t do effectively. I instructed him, ‘No, I think you did as well as you could have. I think the coaches messed up. Mike (his striking coach) and I made a mistake.”
Jubli found the right support following the loss and has now moved on but upon reflection, admits to getting carried away by the excitement of being at the biggest stage of all.
“I got a little too thrilled and went down. It’s good that occurred. Some issues include expertise. That loss taught me one thing. It’s not going to occur once more.”
Singh and Jubli had recognized holes in Breeden’s type however the exhilaration that surrounded the occasion in Abu Dhabi received to them.
“It was getting unreal, it was madness,” stated Singh. “Typically, the night before a fight, we stay in the room and just talk fights. If he doesn’t want to talk about his fights, I show him other fighters for inspiration.”
“We didn’t have our usual conversations about fight strategy – what to do if you’re winning the first round, what to do if you’re losing? I feel I should have been the final checkpoint to make sure he’s following the game plan.”
“He almost finished Mike in the second round, exactly like we discussed. But we didn’t recognize that moment. When he sat on the stool at the end of the second round, we just said, ‘You’re winning, you’re not tired, keep doing what you’re doing.’ We didn’t give him a specific game plan for the third round. And that’s where we really messed up.”
However Jubli, who stands out as the most useful and soft-spoken individual off the struggle is familar with switching to his aggressive combating persona as quickly as he enters the cage this time.
“I feel fortunate to be representing India in the UFC. It’s the same excitement each time I hear I can make history. If this is pressure, then bring it on.”