JENELYN Olsim barges into the semifinals of the ONE Women’s Atomweight World Grand Prix after coming in as a replacement for unbeaten Itsuki Hirata.
Olsim faces Indian sensation Ritu Phogat in the co-main event of ONE – “NEXTGEN” on Oct. 29, 2021 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore.
Olsim was supposed to fight Jihin Radzuan on Nov. 12 in ONE – “NEXTGEN II” but because Hirata backed out because of an undisclosed medical issue, she made a surprise entry to the tournament.
The 24-year-old Olsim is one of the most talented Filipina MMA fighters to enter the ONE Championship cage. She won both of her fights in ONE, submitting Maira Mazar via a guillotine choke in the third round and beating Bi Nguyen by unanimous decision.
Phogat is a very powerful wrestler that usually overpowers her opponent with her excellent takedown and grappling skills. She dominated her first four fights in ONE before losing to Nguyen via a split decision in a fight wherein she gassed out. She bounced back with a unanimous decision over Heqin Lin, which earned her a slot in the Grand Prix. Phogat beat top-rated Bo Meng by unanimous decision in the quarterfinals of the Grand Prix.
Olsim is 5-2, while the 27-year-old Phogat is 6-1.
The main event featured the other Grand Prix semifinal match between Thai star Stamp Fairtex (6-1) and Brazilian Julie Mezabarba (9-2-1).
The winner of the ONE Women’s Atomweight World Grand Prix will earn a shot at ONE women’s atomweight champion Angela Lee.
Also seeing action in the same show is Filipino Jeremy Miado (9-4), who’ll be fighting Chinese rival Li Tao Miao (6-4) in a rematch.