Puja Tomar Becomes First Indian Woman To Land UFC Contract: All You Need To Know About The MMA Star

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In a week when Anshul Jubli is set to be part of a pay-per-view card, there was further good news for Indian MMA as Puja Tomar became the first woman from the country to land a contract with the world's biggest MMA promotion - UFC.

Tomar took to social media to announce the news on Tuesday (October 17). The 28-year-old, who is the the reigning Matrix Fight Night (MFN) strawweight champion took to X to reveal the news about her UFC contract, thanking MFN and its president, Ayesha Shroff for the feat.

"Yesterday with the blessings of Ayesha and MFN, I signed my UFC contract, and became the first Indian Female Fighter to enter into the UFC. Today marks a moment in history, where a young girl from UP Budhana bijrol can turn her dream into reality," she posted on X, formerly Twitter.

"As an MFN strawweight champ, I want to thank Ayesha (Shroff), Krishna (Shroff), and the whole MFN team for helping me achieve this dream," Puja added in her Instagram post.

Who is Puja Tomar?

Uttar Pradesh native, Tomar is a five-time national wushu champion, who started her MMA career with the now-defunct Super Fight League in 2012. She holds an 8-4 record in Pro MMA career.

The 28-year-old also had one stint in the ONE Championship, South Asia's leading MMA promotion, in 2017. But she lost four of her five bouts in the Singapore-based promotion.

She later joined the MFN in 2021 and notched up four consecutive wins before she won the the MFN strawweight title in November 2022 by overcoming Bi Nguyen at MFN 10.

In her most recent fight earlier this year in July, she defended her title against Russia's Anastasia Feofanova at Matrix Fight Night (MFN) 12, where history was made with an all-women headliner.

When will Puja Tomar make her UFC debut?

The news of her contract was revealed by the MMA athlete herself and was later confirmed by her management, First Round Management Europe. The date for her first appearance in the Octagon was revealed on April 25. She will make her bow in UFC Louisville 2024 on June 9.

How many Indians have fought in the UFC so far?

While Tomar is the first India-born woman, Anshul Jubli, a contract winner from Road to UFC season 1, will make his debut on October 21. However, before Jubli, Bharat Khandare, who made one UFC appearance in November 2017, was the first overall.

Khandare had lost to Song Yadong by first-round submission in a Fight Night event, and was later suspended for two years after he was flagged by USADA for prohibited substances.