New Delhi: Under the relentless glare of the UFC spotlight in Sydney on Sunday, India’s Anshul Juburi will fight for more than his first victory. Establishing his legacy as the second Indian mixed martial artist to win a UFC contract would be a fight to establish his legacy.
Despite all the pressures, Uttarakhand Native feels strong ahead of its second fight at the world’s largest MMA promotion.
Fighting Australia’s own Quillan Salkilld at UFC 312 in early qualifying with the enormous home support behind Salkilld is supposed to be an unfamiliar experience, but Jubli wants to go.
“I’ve never played in someone’s hometown before, so I wear my earphones and hear the booing sounds before going to bed every night,” Jubli said in an interview promoted by official broadcaster Sony Sports. I spoke to. “My visualization is that people are booing while I’m focused on the fight.”
Dana White’s Contender series winner, Salkilld, reflects Jubli in many ways. Both fighters share the same 7-1-0 (WLD) record and stand at a height of 1.83m. However, Salkilld retains a slight edge in reach, 1.91 cm compared to Jubli’s 1.75 cm. Nonetheless, Jubli has a strategy to counter its benefits.
“If I stand still, his reach may be better. But if I create angles and manage distances, his reach doesn’t make a difference. I’m for his profits. I won’t play on it,” Jubli added.
Besides sharing similar physical attributes, fighters also have comparable fighting styles. Both seamlessly blend grappling and strike, making this the ideal matchup for Jubli to showcase a balanced MMA skill set.
“When he gets attacked, he goes for a takedown,” Juburi explained. “I think my fighting style is similar to him, but mine is more refined. I also added power to the shots. I now throw a long, powerful combination, and bag and I focus on that while working with the pad’s microphone (Ikirei).
Jubli grappling coach Siddharth Singh detailed the work the team did. From the usual film studies of opponents to fight strategy, he urges Jubli to emphasize that he will continue to fight “bell to bell” regardless of the situation.
The change came from a need for Jubli, an hour after his UFC 294 debut in October 2023, lost to USA’s Mike Breeden. After almost dominating in the first two rounds, Jubli was knocked out with a big right hand. Round 3.
“My biggest problem with Anschul’s final battle was probably me,” Shin told HT at the Crosstrain Fight Club. “He said it didn’t work, so I had a long conversation with him. I told him, “No, I think you did it so you could. I think the coach was ruined. Mike (his impressive coach) and I made a mistake.”
Jubli has found the right support following his loss and has now moved forward, but he admits to reflecting and falling into the excitement of being at the biggest stage of everything.
“I got a little too excited and got off. It’s good that happened. There’s been experience with some things. The loss taught me something. It’s never going to happen again. ”
Singh and Juburi had identified the Breeden style holes, but the exhilaration surrounding the event in Abu Dhabi reached them.
“It had become unrealistic, it was insane,” Shin said. “Usually, the night before a fight we stay in our room and talk about the fight. If he doesn’t want to talk about his fight, I’ll inspire him to other fighters.”
“There was no normal conversation about strategic strategies. What should I do if I win in the first round? What should I do if I lose? To make sure he is following the game plan, I was I feel it should have been the final checkpoint.”
“He almost finished the microphone in the second round, as we discussed. But we didn’t recognize the moment. When he sat on the stool at the end of the second round. , we just said, “You’re winning, you’re not tired, you keep doing what you’re doing.” We didn’t offer him a specific game plan for the third round. And that’s what we really ruined. ”
But Juburi could be the kindest and kindest spoken person from the fight, switching to his offensive combat persona as soon as he enters the cage this time.
“I feel lucky to represent India in the UFC. Every time I hear I can make history, it’s the same excitement. If this is pressure, bring it.”
