Who is Puja Tomar? Everything you need to know about one of India’s hottest MMA prospects set to enter the UFC octagon

Puja Tomar is a 28-year-old professional MMA fighter who became the first Indian woman to land a contract with the UFC.

'The Cyclone' recently took to Instagram to announce her significant achievement. The reigning Matrix Fight Night (MFN) strawweight champion mentioned that she secured her UFC contract with the support and assistance of MFN president Ayesha Shroff:

"Yesterday, with the blessings of @ayeshashroff and @mfn_mma , I signed my UFC contract and became the first Indian female fighter to enter the UFC. Today marks a moment in history where a young girl from UP Budhana-Bijrol can turn her dream into reality. As an MFN strawweight champ, I want to thank Ayesha, Krishna, and the whole MFN team for helping me achieve this dream."

Check out Tomar's post below:

Puja Tomar parted ways with ONE Championship in 2020 following a series of mixed results, having lost three out of her four fights while securing her only victory through a split decision against Priscilla Gaol in 2019. However, she bounced back impressively, stringing together four consecutive wins, and ultimately claimed the strawweight title at MFN 10 in November 2022 by defeating Bi Nguyen.

Her most recent bout was in July when she fought Anastasia Feofanova of Russia to successfully defend her championship at MFN 12.

Puja Tomar's foundation in martial arts comes from her wushu background, and she currently boasts an MMA record of 8-4. Tomar became the first Indian female fighter to sign with the UFC. Earlier this year, Anshul Jubli earned his spot in the octagon by winning at the Road to UFC event and will be fighting at UFC 294 this weekend.

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Social media buzz: How Fans are responding to Puja Tomar joining UFC?

Meanwhile, Puja Tomar's signing with the UFC has triggered a diverse range of responses from fans.

One fan wrote:

"Lets gooooo 🤩🤩🤩🤩💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻"

Another wrote:

"Let's Go Pooja Make the entire nation proud 🇮🇳❤️"

Check out some more reactions below:

"Proud moment for us 🇮🇳🇮🇳"

"That's great for indian MMA Anshul Jubli is also fighting in upcoming days"

"This is big for Indian MMA. We now have two Indian fighters in UFC. Some day perhaps a champion too"

Credits: @CSTodayNews and @sportskeedaMMA on X