Puja Tomar becomes the first-ever Indian to win a fight at UFC
28-year-old Puja Tomar defeated Rayanne dos Santos of Brazil to become first-ever Indian to win a fight at UFC.
Puja Tomar in action on her UFC Debut against Rayanne dos Santos of Brazil. (Photo Credits: UFC)
Indian MMA fighter Puja Tomar created history as she became the first-ever Indian to win a fight at UFC. Puja defeated Brazil's Rayanne dos Santos in the UFC Louisville 2024 in the wee hours of Sunday.
Hailing from Muzzafarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, last year Puja became the first-ever Indian woman fighter to secure a contract with the promotion.
Puja won her bout with a split verdict of 30-27, 27-30, 29-28 in the women's strawweight division on her debut night at the promotion.
It was a close bout between the Brazilian and the Indian with both the fighters sticking to their strengths.
In the opening round, Puja utilized heavy body kicks and landed on the Brazilian cleanly. The second round went in the favour of the Brazilian who constantly pressed forward, leaving Tomar to counter while moving backwards.
Both fighters upped the intensity in the final round, and in an evenly matched contest, it was the push kick knockdown by Puja that awarded her the victory.
The 28-year-old from Budhana dedicated the victory to the Indian fighters and the Indian fans.
“This win is not my win. This win is for all Indian fans and all Indian fighters. before everyone thought that Indian fighters did not stand anywhere. I only thought I had to win and show the World that Indian fighters are not losers," Puja said after her bout.
Puja is the third Indian fighter to walk out at a UFC event with Bharat Kandare and Anshul Jubli being the other two but both of them failed to win on their debut.
Who is Puja Tomar?
A former national Wushu champion Puja Tomar hails from Budhana village of Muzzafarnagar District in Uttar Pradesh.
With an 8-4 record in her Pro MMA career, Puja has featured in other promotions like Matrix Fight Night and One Championship after making her debut at the now-defunct Super League.
She left ONE championship after a torrid run of four losses and joined Indian promotion Matrix Fight Night in 2021.
Puja won four consecutive bouts in MFN and vacated the title of Strawweight. Her latest win came against Russia's Anastasia Feofanova in MFN 12 in July 2023.
Given the nickname of 'Cyclone', Puja is a Southpaw and is known to be one of the best woman fighters in the Indian circuit
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