Anshul Jubli: Who Is The Indian MMA Star Set To Make UFC Debut In UFC 294?

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Anshul Jubli is all set to make his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut this Saturday (October 21) on the under card of UFC 294: Makhachev vs. Volkanovski 2 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

Jubli will take on American lightweight Mike Breeden on the preliminary card of the UFC 294 event that will be headlined by a title clash in the 155-pound division, between champion Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski.

The 28-year-old Indian heads into the fight with an unbeaten record in his professional MMA career, while Breeden poses a 10-6-0 MMA record and is currently on a three-fight losing streak in the UFC.

With the fight news out of the way, let's take a look at Jubli's growth in MMA, and his journey to the UFC as well as the other Indians or athletes with Indian connection in the UFC so far:

Who is Anshul Jubli?

An Uttarakhand native, Jubli was born on January 13, 1995 in a village called Bhatwari, near Uttarkashi town in the Uttarkashi district of Garhwal division, in the north Indian state. Following on from his dad, who served in Border Security Force, Jubli also was inclined to join the army.

However, he later went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from the Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University and worked as a mathematics teacher in a school before switching to mixed martial arts.

Jubli, who was introduced to MMA by one of his friend's brother around 2015, later gained more interest in the combat sport after being inspired by watching video clips of several MMA trainers, including Firas Zahabi and John Danaher in 2017.

Jubli, who later earned a nickname of King of Lions, trained for the sport under Siddharth Singh then later under Commonwealth Games medallist boxer Rohit Tokas before he made his move into an Indian MMA promotion - Matrix Fight Night (MFN).

In 2019, Jubli made his pro MMA debut in MFN, a promotion founded by Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff. He held a 5-0 record at the promotion before he entered the Road to UFC, a tournament organized for rising Asian MMA athletes to earn a contract in the UFC.

How Anshul Jubli landed UFC contract?

Anshul landed the UFC contract after winning the Road to UFC Season 1 lightweight tournament that was held across three venues since June 2022. The Indian star earned a bye in the opening round, which was the quarterfinal, after his opponent Patrick Sho Usami of Japan missed weight.

In the semifinal, he defeated South Korea's Kyung Pyo Kim by split decision. He later knocked out Jeka Seragih of Indonesia in the lightweight bout in the final in February 2023 to win a UFC contract. He was the first Indian to win in UFC, but was he the first Indian to compete in UFC?

Who are the Indian MMA athletes who have fought in UFC?

Jubli is the first Indian to win a bout in UFC, but he is not the first from the country to compete at the promotion. He is the second Indian to get a contract and fight in the UFC after Maharashtra's Bharat Kandare, who lost his only fight in UFC against South Korea's Song Yadong by submission.

What is Anshul Jubli's MMA record?

The King of Lions is 7-0-0 in his pro MMA career. He has three stoppage wins among the seven with one being a submission and two TKO or KO, including the one that landed him the UFC contract. Two of his stoppages were also first round finishes.