Puja Tomar: All you need to know about first Indian to win UFC match after she defeated Brazil's Rayanne Dos Santos

Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter Puja Tomar recently made the headlines when she became the first Indian to clinch a victory in the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC). On Sunday, Puja defeated Rayanne Dos Santos of Brazil via a split decision, with the final scores reading 30-27, 27-30, 29-28 in the 52 kg bout in Louisville in the United States of America.

Puja had initially lost the second round of the bout but caused several powerful punches on Rayanne with the third rounding eventually becoming a tightly-contested affair.

Who is Puja Tomar?

Puja Tomar was born in Budhana village of Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar district on 25 November, 1995. In 2023, the 28 year-old had grabbed the headlines after she went onto become the first Indian woman to sign a contract with the UFC. She also became the fourth Indian overall, after Anshul Jubli, Bharat Kandare and Arjan Singh Bhullar to sign the contract.

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Prior to setting her sights in the UFC, Puja was also a professional wushu player. She has won five national-level titles in Wushu. Puja made her international debut in 2012, in the Super Fight League, which kickstarted her MMA career.

That eventually led her to taking part in the One Championship, and in 2021, she went on to register four consecutive victories in Matrix Fight Night. The year 2022 was a breakthrough year for Puja as she won her first international title after she clinched the Matrix Fight Night strawweight title.

The One Championship and Matrix Fight Night tournaments eventually led her to gaining an UFC contract. She dedicated her win to all Indian fighters.

“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.

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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,” said Puja.