Credit:Getty Images/Zuffa
Credit:Getty Images/Zuffa
Credit:Getty Images/Zuffa
While some wonder how Anshul
Jubli will cope with his lone career setback, his coach,
Siddharth Singh, is confident that “King of Lions” will come back
with a vengeance as he has done in the past.
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Jubli put India on the world mixed martial arts map by winning the
first Road to UFC tournament in the lightweight category last year.
The then undefeated prospect then took on Mike
Breeden at
UFC 294 in October last year, suffering a third-round technical
knockout loss after winning the first two rounds on the
scorecards.
This marked the first setback for Jubli including his amateur
career, leading to some speculations about how it could affect his
mindset. However, coach Singh has seen Jubli lose before and cope
incredibly well with it.
Singh, the head coach and owner of Crosstrain Fight Club in New
Delhi, is confident that Jubli will be hungrier and more complete
upon on his return to the Octagon.
“Yeah, it’s, it’s been an experience, to be honest. It was the
first time for all of us,” Singh said in an interview with
Sherdog’s David Andrew. “Getting the UFC call, was the first time
ever. The tournament was the first time ever. And again, we went
into the UFC knowing that we would face defeat for the first time
ever. I mean, that’s just being a realist.
“And the way the fight went, to be honest, we thought we had
everything under control. We won the first two rounds. We were
looking strong going into the third. So yeah, it was, it was a
little bit of a disappointment, what happened in the third round
but that’s fighting, that is life, things happen. So having said
that Anshul has come back very hungry, he was training here
earlier, you saw. He’s very hungry. He’s very dedicated. He’s very
motivated. He wants to bounce back and I’m very confident, the kind
of person he is, the kind of fighter he is, when you see him back
in the cage, you will see him at his best.
“Yeah, I mean, you’re right. He has never lost at the amateur
level. He never lost in the pros, but he has lost, he’s lost a lot
in the gym. He lost at a local jiu-jitsu tournament. I’ll tell you
what, every time he loses. And everyone’s been making a big thing
about it that, ‘Oh, he’s going to lose. He’s not going to come
back.’ I remember the jiu-jitsu tournament he lost. He’d been only
training a few months. He always liked striking more, but after he
lost the jiu-jitsu tournament he came back so hungry wanting to
learn, wanting to improve that his jiu-jitsu went a few levels up
in the next few events. So, he’s not a fighter who once he faces
defeat, he sits back and says, ‘Oh no, I’m not good enough’ when he
loses.
“He gets super hungry. So after this loss, he’s gone back and he’s
really delved deep back into his game, understanding where his
strengths are, where his weaknesses are and he’s working super
hard. He’s studying everything he’s analyzing. He’s becoming more
of a complete fighter.” Jubli’s recent opponent Breeden, who was on
a three-fight skid and likely fighting to save his job, also missed
weight by 3.5 pounds. While Singh admits it was unprofessional of
Breeden, pulling out was never considered an option.
“Yeah, I mean, it was very unprofessional obviously, for the
opponent to not make weight,” Singh said. “But listen, again,
Anshul is a fighter and we went there to fight, we went there to
win, we went there to represent India, you know? We’ve never really
taken the easy route. We didn’t want, you know, a bye or we just
didn’t want to walk over. We wanted to fight. We went in, we just
had a tough training camp. Why not compete? Why not put yourself,
you know, in front of millions of people and showcase your
heart?
“No, Indian has ever been there. No Indian has ever won. He had an
opportunity and he fought so well. So, I don’t know, I never
thought about pulling out of the fight, he never thought about
pulling out of the fight. We were like, yeah, it’s a fight 3.5
pounds. Yeah, unprofessional. But we were there to fight and we
would fight.”
While there were reports of an April 27 UFC Fight Night booking
between Jubli and China’s Maheshate
Hayisaer, the Indian prospect has clarified that he isn’t
scheduled for a bout as of now.