Who is Puja Tomar? The first Indian MMA fighter to win at UFC

MMA fighter Puja Tomar made history by becoming the first Indian to win a bout at the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in Louisville.

In the wee hours of Sunday, Tomar beat Brazil's Rayanne Dos Santos in the women's strawweight division. She won by the split decision of 30-27, 27-30, 29-28.

Speaking after the match, Tomar said “I want to show the world that Indian fighters are not losers. We are going all the way up! We are not going to stop! We’ll become a UFC champion soon! This win is not my win, it’s for all Indian fans and all Indian fighters. I walked out to my Indian song with the Indian flag, and I felt so proud. I had goosebumps.” 

Watch the video here.

Puja was born in Budhana village of Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar. She started her combat sports journey with Wushu and won five national titles. Later she switched to MMA with the now-defunct Super Fight League in 2012.

Tomar participated in other championships including Matrix Fight Night and One Championship. However, having faced four consecutive losses she left One Championship and joined Matrix Fight Night in 2021. She won four bouts in MFN.

In her last match, she defended the title against Russia’s Anastasia Feofanova in July.

In 2023, she became the first Indian woman to land a contract with the UFC, the biggest Mixed Martial Arts promotion in the world.

She reportedly trains at the Soma Fight Club and is nicknamed 'The Cyclone'.