Puja Tomar
Puja Tomar of Muzaffarnagar made history this weekend when she won her maiden UFC match-up against Rayanne dos Santos of Brazil at Louisville in a strawweight bout, becoming India’s first winner of this global MMA promotion.
Puja dominated the first round with her devastating body kicks that put dos Santos backwards and put him off guard. Throughout all three rounds, both athletes delivered outstanding performances – Puja being particularly effective.
Puja Tomar
Puja Tomar made history on Saturday by becoming the first Indian woman ever to win at UFC. Hailing from Muzaffarnagar, Tomar beat Brazilian Rayanne dos Santos after 15 minutes of intense MMA competition; winning on a split decision victory marked an historic achievement in Indian MMA which has long been considered amongst one of the toughest sports worldwide.
At 28-years old, Tomar was competing in the women’s strawweight division at Saturday’s fights in Louisville, Kentucky against Brazilian opponent Rayanne dos Santos of Brazil. A tough battle ensued before Tomar came away victorious via 30-27, 27-30 and 29-28 split decision over her opponent.
Puja Tomar, with a background in both karate and taekwondo, signed a contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship last year to become just the fourth Indian fighter ever competing in its tournaments after Anshul Jubli, Bharat Kandare, and Arjan Singh Bhullar. She holds five national wushu championships as well as several Matrix Fight Night titles.
Debutant Tomar stunned her opponent with a powerful body kick to take control in the opening round, though Dos Santos took control through striking and grappling skills in subsequent rounds. In the fourth and final round, however, Tomar managed to recover with an effective push kick knockdown that put Dos Santos down for good – her best performance ever as an MMA professional and dedicated the win to all Indian MMA fans who believed Indian fighters couldn’t make it to the top.
Puja Tomar Born in Budhana village of Uttar Pradesh
Puja Tomar hails from a small Indian town where female combat sports opportunities were scarce, yet she broke free of traditional expectations to pursue fighting as a way of supporting herself and her mother after the death of her father. Since then, Tomar has made waves in professional MMA with an 8-4 record across ONE Championship, Matrix Fight Night, and now UFC competitions. Known by fans as “The Cyclone,” her professional record spans numerous platforms – one being her move to fight MMA herself after her journey began after her loss of her father’s passing.
Last year, Tomar made history when she signed with the UFC (World Fighting Championship), renowned for showcasing top-tier fighters worldwide. On her UFC debut against Rayanne dos Santos of Brazil she earned a split decision victory against this tough competitor.
Tomar has experience in both karate and taekwondo and is also a five-time national wushu champion. She began her professional MMA career with Super Fight League before competing in ONE Championship – where she won four bouts before experiencing four losses in succession. Following that experience, Tomar joined MFN 2021 where she quickly won four more fights; most notably beating former ONE Championship competitor Anastasia Feofanova!
Tomar’s victory marks an historic event in Indian MMA and highlights the importance of breaking barriers for women competing in combat sports. She plans on continuing her success on the mat for years to come.
Puja Tomar She is a five-time national wushu champion
Puja Tomar, known by her nickname of “The Cyclone”, will become the first Indian woman to sign a contract with one of the world’s largest Mixed Martial Arts promotions – MFN. While she had competed for other promotions such as ONE Championship before signing with MFN in 2021 and going on to win four fights that same year and claim its strawweight championship, Tomar now trains at Soma Fight Club in Bali, Indonesia.
Tomar began her career as a wrestler before transitioning into mixed martial arts (MMA). Although initially her family wasn’t supportive of this change, hard work and determination ultimately paid off; today she hopes to inspire other women to follow their own dreams and reach for them!
MFN Co-Founder Ayesha Shroff lauded Tomar for her achievements and described her as one of the most inspiring fighters in MMA. In an interview, Tomar noted how much she learned from Shroff who has served as her role model.
On Saturday (June 8), Nadia Tomar will make her UFC debut against Rayanne dos Santos at the KFC Yum Center in Louisville, Kentucky. The fight will air live on Sony Sports Network India as well as SonyLIV online streaming platform; starting off the preliminary card at 5 PM ET/2 PM PT.
Puja Tomar She is a UFC fighter
Puja Tomar made history on Saturday as she became the first Indian female fighter ever to win at the UFC. At 28, Puja MMA fighter secured her maiden win against Brazilian Rayanne Dos Santos via split decision win at women’s strawweight fight in Louisville. Puja was far superior as she scored 199 strikes compared to 150 by Santos while landing 28 leg kicks!
Muzaffarnagar-born fighter and Wushu champion Cyclone Tomar began her combat sports journey with Wushu, winning five national titles before transitioning into mixed martial arts (MMA) through Super Fight League in 2012. Following four consecutive losses at ONE Championship and subsequent signing a contract with MFN in 2021.
Dos Santos was her opponent for Puja Tomar’s debut at MFN and they exchanged heavy blows during all three rounds, beginning with Puja dominated body kicks that landed cleanly on her Brazilian opponent during the first round. Dos Santos quickly rebounded during round two by pressing forward and forcing Puja backwards, until in the third and final round Puja used her swiftness in late stages to land a decisive push kick knockdown that earned her victory; judges scored this match 30-27-27-29-28 all in favor of Puja Tomar Tomar.
