Puja Tomar, a fighter from Budhana village in Uttar Pradesh, has made history as the first Indian woman to win a UFC bout.
Her victory over Brazil’s Rayanne Amanda dos Santos was not just a personal milestone but a proud moment for India. Despite a challenging childhood, she has proved that girls are not a burden and has brought honour to her village and country.
In Budhana, celebrations erupted as the village welcomed its new hero. Crowds gathered, flowers were showered upon her, and garlands were placed around her neck.
Puja had become a symbol of resilience and triumph. Her journey to the UFC was not just about a fight in the octagon but a battle she had been fighting since birth.
Puja was born into a society where the birth of a girl was often met with disappointment. She was the third daughter in a family that had already struggled against societal norms.
Her father, upon hearing of her birth, fainted. Her parents had decided not to raise another girl and left her in a pot to die. However, when she cried, her mother pulled her out and decided to keep her.
Her elder sisters, Anjali and Anu, defied the odds—one became a nurse, the other an MBBS doctor. But Puja was different. She felt she had something to prove, not just to her family but to the world. She wanted to show that a girl was not a liability.
As a child, she did not idolise politicians or athletes but admired Jackie Chan. She watched his movies not for entertainment but to learn. When a local karate teacher visited her school, she found her calling. By the age of seven, she was already throwing punches at boys.
In one match, she hit her opponent so hard that they passed out, leading to her disqualification. But for Puja, the thrill of fighting was like a scene from a Jackie Chan movie. She knew this was what she wanted to do.
Karate was not enough for her. She needed more freedom to fight. That led her to Wushu, a martial art that combined skill with combat. With the support of her uncle, she found her way to SAI Bhopal, where she trained for five years.
But when she was offered a job as a police constable after years of hard work, she was disappointed. She refused to settle. Her sister was in medical school and needed money. That was when she heard about MMA.
She fought without contracts, without pay, and with no guarantees. In Delhi, someone offered her money to fight, and she agreed—not for fame, but to pay her sister’s tuition fees. From that point, her journey in MMA took off. Today, the 31-year-old invests nearly ₹1.5 to ₹2 lakh per month in her training.
Outside the ring, she is an artist. Her room is decorated with her sketches and craftwork. "My hobbies are the complete opposite of fighting," she says with a grin. "But I love it. It keeps me grounded." Before every fight, she prays—not to win, but for clarity.
Her training is intense, with two daily sessions, strict dieting, and brutal drills. Sometimes, it is so exhausting that she struggles to sleep, but she knows this is what it takes.
Her coach, Mike, helped her recover from an ankle injury that delayed her next fight. Now, she is preparing to face Ireland’s Shauna Bannon at UFC Fight Night 254 on 22 March. "I am mentally ready," she says. "This year is going to be big. My goal is to bring the belt home."
Before her fight in Louisville, a Japanese journalist asked her if Indian fighters could succeed outside of cricket. The question stung. She simply smiled, determined to prove that India is not just a cricketing nation.
On 8 June 2024, she did just that. With precise strikes and relentless energy, she defeated Santos in a historic victory.
Back in her village, people wept with joy. Her mother now proudly tells everyone, "That’s my daughter." Her sisters, one in scrubs and the other in a white coat, were her loudest supporters.
But there was one person she could not prove herself to—her father. He had passed away before she could show him what she was capable of.
"When I got older, my mother told me how my father had fainted when I was born," she confesses. "They had left me to die because they did not want another girl. But when I cried, my mother saved me. I always carried that pain. I never imagined my father would pass away before I could prove myself to him. But in every punch, in every takedown, in every fight, I carry that fire."
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