Exclusive | Anshul Jubli - A Tuition Teacher Turned UFC Fighter

Anshul Jubli – the biggest star in Indian Mixed Martial Arts at the moment, is all set to take the Ultimate Fighting Championship by storm, after becoming the second Indian to get a UFC contract. The Uttarkashi-born fighter earned the big contract after winning the Road to UFC tournament in the lightweight division.

It was a career-changing moment for the ace MMA fighter who beat Indonesia’s Jeka Saragih to earn it. However, it was not in his plans to enter MMA when he passed his exams for Class 12. Jubli’s aim was to get into the Indian Army and prepared for the CDS exam. He started MMA to collect the certificates to show in his SSB interview but it turned out to be a turning point in his life and he started to fall in love with the combat sport.

It was a topsy-turvy ride for Jubli before he landed the career-changing contract, the financial situation pulled him down a couple of times while major events he was supposed to be part of that were also cancelled. But he fought hard and broke every wall in his way to reach where he is today.

In an exclusive conversation with News18 Sports, Anshul Jubli shared his journey from being a tutor to a UFC-contracted fighter. He talked about various ups and downs in his career thus far and how he overcame the obstacles to get the big ticket to UFC.

Here are the excerpts:

Can you tell us how you got into Mixed Martial Arts?

I had to get into a sport after class 12th as I was preparing for the CDS exam, so in the SSB or interview they ask what have you done alongside your graduation then I thought to join a sport which can help me in defence ability. I first thought of Karate but it didn’t fascinate me much, then I went to an MMA gym, it was the first time when I heard of MMA and UFC. It was 2015 when I first joined MMA, at that time my only aim was to collect certificates which I can show in SSB interviews. It started like this and in one or two years I started to fall in love with the sport.

Is it true that you worked as a teacher for some time?

Not a teacher, but I was a tutor. It’s also an interesting story, I wanted to move to Delhi – a bigger city as compared to Dehradun. With time I also started thinking about giving a shot at MMA professionally. I was athletic since young age and interest in MMA started growing as I made a couple of diaries on the sport. I started looking for new techniques – I think it is what we call passionate about something. I needed money to go to Delhi and the best option to earn was through tuition as I was good at mathematics. I did it for around one year. I saved a lot of money as I was never a guy who used to spend money on expensive things.

You have faced challenges while getting into MMA, there were a couple of big events you were supposed to be part of that were cancelled. What kept you going? Tell us about the support you had from family/coaches…

I didn’t have any other option. I decided to quit CDS because when I went for an interview at SSB, a psychologist asked me whether I want to do it seriously. When I told him my schedule he asserted that you are only doing MMA and not preparing seriously for this job, from there on I decided to give my all to MMA.

Once or twice when I was left with no money then I started thinking that I am wasting money and Delhi is also a bit more expensive as compared to Dehradun. I went to the Philippines after borrowing money from someone but the event got cancelled. At that moment I thought about leaving. I packed my bag and was about to leave for Dehradun the next morning and I got a call from my tauji (uncle) he told me “Tu Philippines gya tha cancel hogaya, kuch zarurat hogi toh batana tere abhi tauji hai.” I never asked for anything from him but his words boosted my confidence.

Your professional debut was against Sanjeet Budhwar, a fighter you admire. Tell us about that experience and are you in touch with him now?

It was a surreal experience when I fought against Sanjeet Budhwar, we are friends now. Ahead of our fight, I was telling everyone that he is my favourite fighter and has the potential to represent India at UFC. I was offered that fight on very short notice – about 20-25 days before, I accepted it as me and my coach never had any doubts. But when a fighter is at his peak and he is fighting an amateur then people started doubting the latter. People told me you should have not accepted the fight.

He is still an excellent fighter. He is a featherweight champion in MFN and he will also represent India soon in UFC.

Combat Sports is still in its early stages of development in India. Being the 2nd ever Indian-born fighter to have landed a UFC contract, how do you see the growth of MMA in the country? Is it on the right track or do you see gaps?

There is a difference between Combat sports and MMA. It’s a bit different from wrestling, karate or boxing because in MMA there is nothing at the amateur level. It’s a professional sport where you earn good money. For eg, a wrestler or boxer who prepared hard for Olympics but failed to qualify for it, he/she is a national champion but didn’t play Asian Games. At one stage he/she will say I gave my life to it but didn’t get anything in the end. On the other side in MMA, even if you are participating in MFN then you will take Rs 5 lakh home. There is money in MMA, if you have a professional fight then you will stay in a five-star hotel, and you will get good money, which is why MMA is growing in India. We are one of the best in wrestling and boxing as we have a combat sports culture and MMA will only grow more with time.

UFC has a very big fanbase. I got 1 lakh followers when I got a UFC contract, people know Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Can you tell us a bit about your training – what it involves, a little bit about your diet, schedule?

In combat sports, it is off camp and in camp, we avoid oily food in the off camp. While in camp, almost three months ahead of the fight, I have to drop the weight and keep a clean diet. I don’t understand it completely as my nutritionist takes care of it. The training schedule is almost the same both on and off camp. 3 hours in the morning and evening. It’s just the intensity I put in training, it increases when the fight is in a few days. The strength and condition, sparring rounds get increased in the camp.

You have often praised your coach Siddarth Singh, and called him your godfather. Tell us about his role in your career…

He played a massive role, I would have been nothing without him. Main MFN bhi nahi khela hota unke bina, kab ka chordke chala gya hota. Before the Road to UFC, Siddharth sir advised me to go to Thailand and learn more tricks. I have a management now but earlier he was everything for me. If I have to say who is my godfather in UFC then it will definitely be him.

We are a team and we discuss our plans. He only wants good for me and I share everything with him.

I train almost every day. After a fight, I give myself 10 days where I promote myself as no one else will come to promote MMA and if it’s my sport then I had to do it myself.

Have you gotten to know when you will be making your UFC debut?

No idea at the moment. I can’t say anything before signing anything. Earlier we were negotiating a fight with UFC and I said yes but it didn’t happen. When it’s your first fight, you want to fight anybody as it will benefit you no matter who is against you. UFC has promised me that I will get at least one fight this year.

Tell us about your collaboration with Timex…

It’s very huge for me, when I posted on social media that I am associated with Timex, people started talking about the association – it was like Virat Kohli-type feel. A big brand like Timex supporting an MMA athlete is a big thing.  Coincidently, when they approached me, I was looking for a Timex Watch only. The UFC-associated Timex watches are very rough and tough, quite solid.