‘The soil is mine, so is the championship’

Tensions boiled over at the pre-fight press conference as Bangladesh women fighter Sanjida Jannat issued a fierce warning ahead of the Zulcan Fighting Championship.

The undefeated Bangladeshi star will battle Thailand’s Pornpimon Pongpaew for the prestigious WBC Asia Continental Title at ZFC 1, set to take place at the Zulcan Indoor Arena on Saturday.

The bout is already being billed as the fight of the night when they faced off and stared eyes, with pride, rankings, and international recognition on the line.

Pornpimon, who stands 5’2” tall, enters the contest with a professional record of seven wins and seven defeats.

Speaking to Daily Sun on Friday, the Thai fighter struck a respectful yet defiant tone.

“Even though I am a guest, I have come a long way to give the Bangladesh girl, a hard fight,” she said.

Sanjida, however, responded with trademark steel and supreme confidence.

“She can dream of winning,” Sanjida noted. “But the soil is mine, the country is mine, so the title will also be mine. Insha’Allah, I will try my best to make sure the title comes to Bangladesh.”

The clash crowns a remarkable rise for the Bangladeshi star, who remains unbeaten with a professional record of five wins, no losses and two draws, including a 40% knockout rate.

Asked whether she is targeting another knockout, Sanjida remained calm but confident.

“Insha’Allah, I will continue doing what I am best at,” she told Daily Sun.

The women’s title bout will headline a stacked ZFC card featuring Bangladeshi fighters Manjoor and Rashed in separate title contests, with Rashed set to fight for the ZFC MMA Championship.

Regular Zulcan standout Masjedul Reza Omeo, popularly known as “The Golden Boy”, will also take on a foreign challenger.

ZFC COO Arvind said the event marks a turning point for Bangladeshi combat sports.

“All our fighters are international,” Lalwani said. “We have fighters from Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, and in the future we plan to bring in European and American fighters as well.”

He confirmed that multiple elite belts will be contested in one explosive night.

“The prizes include the WMO Pro-Amateur title, the WBC Asia Continental Championship, the WMO Pro title and the ZFC MMA Championship,” he said.

With prestige, passion and national pride at stake, Saturday night will be the moment for Sanjida to carry Bangladesh’s flag to new heights on the global stage.