New Delhi: Indian MMA star Anshul Jubli is ready to raise the Indian flag in the octagon again. The 28-year-old fighter has been scheduled to fight at the UFC 312 event at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney on February 9, Sunday.
This will be his second fight on the UFC main roster as he will face Australian Quillan Sailkid in the early preliminary card of the UFC 312 pay-per-view. Jubli will be making his return to the UFC after 475 days.
The UFC star became the second Indian to compete in the UFC after Bharat Khandare and now he will become the first Indian fighter to fight two bouts in the UFC.
In this debut fight, he dominated the first two rounds against Mike Breeden but in the last round, he was submitted by Breeden and suffered a heartbreaking loss in his debut fight.
Anshul Jubli’s early life
Anshul comes from an Indian army background, as his father was employed in the Indian Border Security Force (BSF). In his childhood days, he was bullied by his classmates and to overcome his past, he stepped foot in combat sports.
Jubli was just 17 years old when he started his amateur career. He took his initial MMA classes at a nearby gym but after some classes, he traveled to Delhi and started training jiu-jitsu session at Crosstrain Fight Club.
He fought his first amateur fight in 2016 and finished his amateur career with an excellent record of 7-0. There was also a special instance in his amateur career when Jubli was called up for a fight in the Philippines and he didn’t have money to travel abroad. His friends stood up and gave him Rs. 1 lakh and took care of his food and lodging in the Philippines.
Jubli became a professional fighter in 2019 when India’s biggest MMA league, Matrix Fight Night (MFN) signed him and offered a bout against Sanjeet Budhwar. The 28-year-old fighter won his first professional fight, and after that, his career took off.
Indian star made his presence in every MFN event from MFN 2 to MFN 6 and stretched his professional career to 5-0. His performances in the MFN gave him a spotlight and UFC’s prime talent scout in India Somesh Kamra signed him for the ‘Road to UFC’ trials.
Anshul Jubli’s UFC career
Jubli’s first opponent in the tournament failed to make the weight before the fight which saw him advance to the semi-finals of a three-bout knockout tournament.
He produced a dominant performance in his first UFC fight and defeated South Korean Kyung Pyo Kim via split decision in a hard-fought three-round fight. Jubli was just one win away from completing his dream.
Jubli put up another great performance and finished Jeka Saragih via ground and pound and earned a UFC contract by Dana White. UFC President White gave him a great opportunity in 2023 by adding his fight in the UFC 294 event.
Unfortunately, Jubli lost his first UFC main fight via knock-out, and after that loss, he opted out from the octagon due to an injury. He is now set to face Salkild in the UFC 312 event.
Anshul Jubli vs Quillan Sailkild
Sailkild is an Australian fighter with a record of 7-1 in his professional MMA career. The Australian fighter earned a UFC contract in 2024 after he defeated USA’s Gauge Young at the Contender Series 2024.
The Australian fighter will be in the UFC’s octagon for the first time, which will give Jubli an edge as the Indian has been in the UFC octagon three times. Sailkild will also perform in front of his home crowd as the UFC 312 pay-per-view is set up in Sydney.
“I’ve trained specifically for Salkilld, and although he’s a very good fighter, I think he has a lot of weaknesses as well, such as his flat-footedness. I will try to capitalise on those and dominate. I’ll dominate the fight.” Jubli stated before his clash against Sailkild.
Sailkild’s grappling will pose a challenge for Jubli in the bout as Sailkild has won three fights by submissions in his professional career. Anshul is great on the feet and will look to finish the fight early, as in his previous bout, he was way ahead of his opponent in the first two rounds. However, he fizzled out in the third round, which led to his defeat.
Indian UFC star Anshul Jubli is set to battle against Australian Quillan Sailkild at UFC 312 on February 9, Sunday. Here’s a look at who is Anshul Jubli before his clash at the UFC 312 event. UFC Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
