At UFC, Jubli eager to show his skill set in biggest night

Fighting against Australia's Salkilld in the lightweight division, the Indian will need to put his best foot forward

- Samreen Razzaqui

Under the unforgiving glare of the UFC spotlight in Sydney on Sunday, India's Anshul Jubli will be fighting for more than just his first win. It is going to be a fight to establish his legacy as only the second Indian mixed martial artist to get the UFC contract after Bharat Kandare.

Despite the pressure of it all, the Uttarakhand-native is feeling strong ahead of his second fight in the biggest MMA promotion in the world.

Fighting against Australia's own Quillan Salkilld in UFC 312 in the early prelims lightweight division with colossal home support behind Salkilld is bound to be an unfamiliar experience but Jubli is raring to go. "I haven't experienced playing at someone's home ground before, so every night before bed, I put on my earphones and listen to the sound of booing," Jubli told HT in an interview facilitated by official broadcasters Sony Sports.

"My visualisation is that people are booing while I'm focusing on the fight." Salkilld, a winner at Dana White's Contender Series, mirrors Jubli in many ways. Both fighters share an identical 7-1-0 (W-L-D) record and stand 1.83m tall.