Puja Tomar make history, becomes first Indian to win in the UFC

08 June 2024

The much-awaited UFC debut of India’s Puja Tomar happened today at UFC Louisville and Puja made history by becoming the first-ever Indian fighter to win in the UFC. 

Puja went up against Rayanne Dos Santos of Brazil in the opening fight of the Preliminary card. The opening round of the fight proved to be a stand-up battle between the two fighters. Rayanne was advancing in the second round and was met with swift counters from Puja who also managed to fend off a takedown attempt from her Brazilian counterpart. The sidekicks of Puja were proving to be a problem for Rayanne who attempted one more takedown midway through the third round only to see Puja defending it. The intensity of the fighters shot up in the last two minutes of the fight before the third round ended. The judges scored the fight in favor of Puja Tomar via a split decision. 

Puja Tomar came into the fight on the back of a four-fight winning streak which also saw her winning the MFN Strawweight title. Prior to this, Puja was seen competing in ONE Championship and Super Fight League. A former Invicta Atomweight champion, Rayanne Dos Santos came into the fight in search of her first win in the UFC. Her debut in the organization ended in a split decision loss back in 2023.

With the fight, Puja Tomar made history by becoming the first-ever Female Indian fighter to compete in the UFC. She is also the third Indian to fight in the UFC following the likes of Bharat Kandare and Anshul Jubli. Bharat Khandare had made his UFC debut back in 2017 against Song Yadong and suffered a first-round submission loss.

Anshul Jubli, on the other hand, made his UFC debut last year against Mike Breeden and suffered a third-round TKO loss. Anshul had earned his spot in the organization after winning the Road to UFC Lightweight tournament.