Indian Strawweight Puja Tomar cemented her name in history as she became the first-ever Indian to win a bout in the UFC. In the fight on Saturday, she won a bout against her opponent Brazil’s Rayanne Amanda dos Santos via a split decision at the UFC Louisville.
“Puja Tomar is a pioneer for women’s MMA in India, and her win made history. India has a long-standing tradition of women excelling in combat sports, and UFC has been a platform for women to shine since 2013, so Puja’s debut shows how far the UFC has come as a sport. We are looking forward to Puja continuing to put on amazing performances as she represents India,” said UFC Senior Vice President and Head of Asia Kevin Chang.
India’s first UFC victory
Tomar faced Rayanne dos Santos at strawweight in the very first bout of the card. The match went for all three rounds including 15 minutes of gruelling and fast-paced back-and-forth action. Santos used her height advantage and range to dictate the action, but Tomar went kicking and screaming to the final bell, causing damage in the process. When the scorecards were read, Tomar picked up a split decision win (30-27, 27-30, 29-28).
These two are BRINGING it for the first fight of #UFCLouisville 🔥
[ Live NOW on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/sUQarK3Lke
— UFC (@ufc) June 8, 2024
“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. Inside (the Octagon), there was no pressure, I just thought, ‘I have to win’. I took two or three punches, but I’m OK. I’m going to improve myself and I’m going all the way up,” Puja Tomar said after her win.
DEBUT DUBS 🙌
Puja Tomar takes the split decision at #UFCLouisville 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/IMYkYlcDKj
— UFC (@ufc) June 8, 2024
Who is Puja Tomar?
Born in Budhana village of Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar, Tomar is a five-time national wushu champion with a background in karate and taekwondo.
She has competed in other tournaments including Matrix Fight Night, where she won the straw-weight title twice. She earned the title of ‘Cyclone’ Puja due to her achievements.
“Before, I didn’t know what the UFC was,” she recalled. “I just wanted to protect my family after my father passed away. So I started to learn karate and kickboxing, and after that, I think I can make my career in martial arts,” she told UFC.com.
She was just 12 years old when she started this journey and lost her father and the reason for training was to protect her family.
