Bhatwari’s native, Anshul Jubli, a ferocious soul is the second person after Bharat Khandare, to get a UFC contract. Anshul Jubli comes from Uttarkashi, a city known for contemplation, but has lived his early years across different states in India. His father Ravindra Singh Jubli, is a retired officer of the Border Security Force (BSF). Since his job demanded frequent transfers, Anshul had the chance to explore different corners of India. Born in 1995, he has outshined his personality in the world of martial arts and is known as the ‘King of lions’.
From an Indian Army Aspirant to Indian Mixed Martial Artist
Anshul Jubli’s career is an exciting build-up from an Indian Army aspirant to an Indian mixed martial artist. His aspirations were no less than that of any Uttrakhand’s millennial generation. Anshul comes from a place rooted with India’s highest army aspirants. Just like most of the lads at the Army school in Uttarkashi, a 40,000-person tiny town in the lower Himalayas, he himself wanted to join the military. After schooling, Anshu Jubli’s education includes a bachelor of science degree in mathematics from the Hemawati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University, post which he worked as a school teacher. However, right after, he transitioned his career into an Indian mixed martial artist.
In 2015, he began watching MMA when one of his friend’s brothers showed him the MMA fight. He soon developed his interest in the same, which grew eventually. The videos of Firas Zahabi, an MMA teacher and a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ), mainly contributed to his idea of practicing martial arts, and John Danaher, an MMA instructor.
Although his city lacked behind in coaching and training facilities, that couldn’t hold his dreams. So he moved to Delhi and joined Crosstrain Fight Club, an MMA club under Siddharth Singh. He started learning MMA when the country’s MMA culture was still relatively young. Before him, only one Indian, Bharat Khandare, had competed on a UFC card. Unfortunately, Khandare had been knocked out and subsequently eliminated after a steroid use test revealed a positive result. Nevertheless, Anshul thought he could make it as a pioneer even in such a desolate environment.
Stepping Stones for Anshul Jubli
Anshul Jubli’s championships and accomplishments are the stepping stones that created history.
- He became the first MMA fighter from India to win the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s (UFC) Road to UFC tournament on February 5, 2023.
- Won the title ‘Performance of the Night.’
- Won the semi-finals in the ‘2022 Road to UFC Lightweight Tournament.’
- He is India’s first UFC winner, according to Anshul Jubli’s Wikipedia.
- He is the first Indian to triumph in an MMA match outside of Asia.
Both of Anshul Jubli’s UFC fights (2022 and 2023) have given him success and respect. All people are hooked on Anshul Jubli’s next fight, expecting him to maintain the quintessential platform that he has achieved. He competes in the lightweight division. However, there was another time before his ground-breaking five-bout UFC contract and the lucrative fight bonus. When he was just another fighter, barely making ends meet and pursuing what looked to everyone to be a fairly absurd dream of being the first Indian fighter in the UFC, he competed in flashy Las Vegas without his tens of thousands of Instagram followers.
‘I’m going to be the first Indian guy who will fight in the UFC. I’m going to have (ring announcer) Bruce Buffer introduce me, Michael Bisping interview me after a win, and one day have Dana White put a belt around my waist,”
—- Anshul Jubli
An interesting incident that could be equalized to the fact that he manifested himself in UFC much before signing the contract, is that he contacted the UFC owner and President Dana White via a direct Instagram message on November 18, 2021, that he would participate in his promotion. Later, he understood that he would unlikely have seen that DM. However, Anshul thought that he was already creating a contract at that point.
Here is what Anshul wrote in that message which is still shown as unread:
“India is on its way!
UFC fighter 2023
UFC Champion in 2026.”
Anshul has remodeled the ambitious paths for the youth and has proven to be an encouraging identity on the stage of martial arts.
