India’s UFC trailblazer Puja Tomar walks into the biggest fight of her career yet

In October 2023, the UFC signed its archetypal Indian pistillate fighter, Pooja Tomar. In June 2024, she won connected her UFC debut. In 2025, she endured her archetypal nonaccomplishment wrong the Octagon. And now, successful 2026, Tomar volition locomotion retired successful Macau for her 3rd UFC bout, this clip against a Chinese opponent, successful beforehand of a Chinese crowd.Tomar has been astatine the centre of Indian MMA’s astir important play of planetary visibility. She has besides learned, during that aforesaid stretch, that being the archetypal to bash thing and being unafraid successful your presumption are 2 wholly antithetic things. The UFC does not support fighters connected its roster for symbolic reasons. The grounds has to move.Her UFC grounds presently stands astatine 1-1, and astatine 32, she is not precisely a imaginable being groomed for the future.

A triumph is pivotal for the Budhana-born combatant to support momentum and support her options open. A loss, however, could spot her astatine a crossroads. Tomar understands that world and does not effort to formal it up.“I haven’t spoken to anyone astir it [my UFC future], but yes, my squad and my coaches ever archer maine that triumph is precise important for Pooja, and I judge that too. For me, for my country, and for Indian MMA, this triumph is precise important,” Tomar told TimesofIndia.com up of her combat against Shi Ming.

The Stakes successful Macau

Ming arrives successful Macau arsenic thing adjacent to a location fighter. The Chinese strawweight won the Road to UFC Season 3 tourney to gain her UFC contract, and adjacent though she herself is coming disconnected a nonaccomplishment to Bruna Brasil past August, galore inactive retrieve Ming’s stunning knockout of Feng Xiaocan successful 2024, a brutal caput footwear that sent Xiaocan to infirmary and secured Ming’s UFC deal.Tomar, though, appears unfazed by Ming’s credentials. Ming’s nonrecreational grounds reads 17-6-0 compared to Tomar’s 9-5-0.“I recognize that, yes, I had already been successful the UFC earlier Shi Ming,” Tomar said confidently. “And I person besides fought immoderate precise bully fighters. So I consciousness I person gained bully experience, and I judge I tin bash amended than her.”And Tomar is laser-focused connected securing a large win.“I consciousness that this clip I person worked adjacent harder. I privation to marque my UFC grounds 2-1, and for that I request this victory. Right present my absorption is lone connected that. There is thing other successful my mind, I conscionable privation to spell determination and bring backmost a large victory,” she said.

The dilatory emergence of MMA visibility successful India

Tomar’s signing was historic, and aft her triumph connected UFC debut successful Louisville successful 2024, the effect successful India was warm, widespread, and concisely precise loud. She believes her beingness connected the planetary signifier volition yet person a larger interaction connected the maturation of MMA successful India.“After my archetypal victory, I saw that MMA had grown rather a batch successful India. People started realising that Indian fighters are besides competing successful the UFC. Many radical successful India ticker the UFC, but adjacent contiguous a batch of radical inactive bash not cognize that Indians correspond the state successful the UFC.“So for me, it has been astir continuing to triumph much fights truthful that Indian fighters tin get designation wrong our ain country, and radical tin spot that Indian athletes are competing astatine this level successful the UFC,” she said.Beyond the combat itself, Macau besides represents a important infinitesimal for South Asian MMA. On the aforesaid Road to UFC Season 5 card, determination volition beryllium astatine slightest 1 much Indian combatant competing, alongside a Nepali athlete.

In UFC history, having much than 1 South Asian jock connected a azygous paper has been genuinely rare. For Tomar, it is simply a motion of things to come.“It has ever been similar this, if I americium unsocial and I execute victory, past successful the aboriginal galore doors volition unfastened for a batch of MMA fighters,” she said. “This clip determination are already two, adjacent clip determination volition beryllium four, past ten. That is however the athletics volition grow.”Chungreng Koren, the erstwhile Matrix Fight Night interim bantamweight champion nicknamed ‘The Indian Rhino’, volition measurement into the Road to UFC Season 5 quarter-finals connected May 28 arsenic a precocious replacement, taking connected Japan’s Ryuho Miyaguchi.

Nepal’s Rabindra Dhant volition participate the aforesaid bantamweight bracket arsenic the archetypal Nepali combatant ever to look successful the Road to UFC series, Dant besides emerged from Matrix Fight Night and idiosyncratic who has antecedently faced Koren.

Why Tomar Believes MMA Can Go Mainstream successful India

The athletics itself has changed the speech astir MMA successful India, adjacent if it has not changed capable yet. For Tomar, the days erstwhile explaining MMA to a sceptical Indian genitor meant starting from scratch are dilatory fading.“A batch has changed compared to before. There is simply a caller procreation that is precise excited astir becoming MMA fighters. MMA has grown a batch compared to earlier days, though immoderate radical are inactive not afloat comfy with the sport. They consciousness that different sports are safer than this. But overall, the athletics has decidedly grown a lot.”And Tomar has witnessed that displacement firsthand.“Many girls from my colony travel to conscionable maine now,” she said. “In my ain family, I person a niece who started doing a small boxing aft watching me.“They feel, if Pooja tin bash it, past wherefore can’t we? Back then, circumstances were overmuch much difficult, and contiguous determination is acold much state and opportunity. The biggest happening is that they should ne'er springiness up.”

From Budhana to the UFC

Tomar grew up successful Budhana, Muzaffarnagar, a farming assemblage wherever she mislaid her begetter astatine an aboriginal age, worked successful sugarcane fields arsenic a child, and near for Meerut astatine astir 12 aft a section karate teacher sparked her involvement successful martial arts astatine school.She would spell connected to bid formally successful Wushu, winning 5 nationalist golden medals and representing India astatine the World Wushu Championships.When the Sports Authority of India offered her a authorities job, she turned it down. Around the aforesaid time, her sister was successful aesculapian schoolhouse and needed fiscal support. Tomar heard that idiosyncratic successful Delhi would wage her to combat MMA, and she accepted, initially to assistance screen tuition fees.She turned nonrecreational successful October 2013 successful the Super Fight League, finishing her archetypal 2 opponents successful 21 and 24 seconds respectively.After a gap, she returned successful 2017 and signed with ONE Championship, wherever she suffered 3 losses earlier being released successful 2020.She rebuilt her vocation done India’s Matrix Fight Night circuit, winning 4 consecutive bouts betwixt 2021 and 2023, including the inaugural MFN Women’s Strawweight Championship.

That tally yet earned her a UFC contract.Tomar has antecedently spoken astir wanting to assistance make MMA successful India, done gyms, infrastructure, and creating pathways for fighters. But inquire her what volition genuinely marque the Indian nationalist beryllium up and announcement the sport, and the inevitable IPL examination enters the conversation.“Maybe not close present [a UFC lawsuit successful India], but successful the coming years, the UFC tin scope the level of the IPL successful India,” she said. “The time the UFC hosts an lawsuit successful India, a batch of radical volition genuinely recognize the level of this athletics and however large it truly is.”Whether she is inactive competing erstwhile that infinitesimal arrives is simply a question this Macau combat whitethorn assistance answer. A triumph keeps the roadworthy open.