Puja Tomar eyes UFC comeback, calls for Performance Institute to develop Indian fighters

Puja Tomar battles Rayanne dos Santos of Brazil in a strawweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event on June 8, 2024 in Louisville. | Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES

Two years after becoming the first Indian to win an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) bout, Puja Tomar still gets goosebumps recalling the night she pulled off the unexpected.

“I was a complete underdog. An Indian athlete was competing on such a big platform, and people hardly expected a victory. All I wanted was to prove to the world that we could win and that, with one victory, we could show that we were capable of doing even better,” Tomar tells Sportstar.

The victory also helped bring mixed martial arts (MMA) into sharper focus in India, with more youngsters now aspiring to compete in the UFC.

“When I started practising MMA, hardly anyone knew about the sport. Today, MMA is becoming popular, and many people want to take it up and become UFC fighters. A lot of young athletes are coming forward, and reaching the UFC has become their goal. Earlier, people would think about competing in smaller leagues, but one win has changed that mindset,” she says.

Tomar remains the only Indian to have won a UFC bout.

In Mumbai on Saturday to meet visiting Brazilian fighter Carlos Prates, she spoke about the need for better coaching, facilities and training programmes to help Indian fighters compete consistently at the highest level.

“We need international coaches and the right guidance. For instance, if your opponent is a striker, you need to know how to approach that fight. We need well-designed training programmes. There are several things that are available at the international level but are still missing in India,” she says in an interaction facilitated by Sony Sports Network.

Tomar wants to help bridge that gap. She hopes that the UFC sets up a Performance Institute (PI) in India even as she works towards opening an academy of her own.

“I have also spoken to the UFC about opening a big PI centre in India so that our athletes can be prepared properly,” she says. “I am also working towards setting up something similar, where talented fighters can get the right opportunities and come to the forefront.”

Until then, she encourages young fighters to explore other combat sports if opportunities in MMA are limited.

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“I tell every fighter that if they are not getting opportunities in MMA, they should take up boxing or wrestling. Combat sports involve several martial arts disciplines, and all of them are useful,” she says.

After nearly 25 years in martial arts, Tomar feels she has learnt more in the last three years. “Had I known some of these things earlier, I might have become a UFC fighter much sooner. Who knows, I might even have become a champion,” she says.

Her own journey to the UFC was far from smooth. With opportunities drying up, she had begun wondering if her career was nearing its end. An appearance at an event organised by film producer and actress, Ayesha Shroff, changed that.

“Honestly, my life has changed completely. I am living a much better life now. There was a point when I felt there were no opportunities left for me. I had been in MMA for a long time, and I started feeling that perhaps my career was coming to an end. But then I participated in the Ayesha Shroff event, and after that, I got the UFC opportunity. One victory changed my life,” she says.

“People started recognising me, my lifestyle changed, and I am now living the dream life I had always imagined,” she adds.

Now, Tomar wants to become a more complete fighter. She has been working on her wrestling and ground game, though finding quality training partners in India remains difficult. Her last fight camp was in Bali.

“I mostly have to train outside India because it is still very difficult to get proper MMA training here. When I am in India, I train wherever I can find opportunities around my home, whether it is wrestling or boxing. But when I have a fight camp, I travel abroad,” she says.

Her last fight, against Shi Ming in May, ended in a first-round submission defeat by an arm-triangle choke. Tomar feels she trained too hard and overthought the contest. Soon after, her mother suffered a fall, keeping her in hospital for a month.

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“After losing that fight, I felt like I didn’t even want to go home the next day,” she says. “I just wanted to continue training. Perhaps I had trained too hard before that fight, but I couldn’t show it inside the octagon. I also ended up overthinking a lot.”

“After that, my mother slipped and fell, and I spent a month in the hospital with her. Family responsibilities are always there, but I have started training again. I want to work on the areas where I fell short and make a strong comeback,” she adds.

She is now balancing her mother’s care with training, particularly her ground game. “At the moment, I spend one part of my day looking after my mother and another part working on my ground game. I will soon leave for my next fight camp. I want people to see the complete MMA fighter in me, something they perhaps haven’t seen so far,” she says.

Striking comes naturally to Tomar, but she wants her next fight to showcase her all-round game. “When you are competing in the UFC, you cannot be just a striker. You are competing in the biggest league in the world, and you have to be a complete MMA fighter. I have worked on my wrestling and my ground game as well,” she says.

“But I have been practising striking since childhood. Once you are inside the Octagon, your muscle memory takes over, and you naturally fall back on what you have practised for years. When I compete in my next fight, I want people to see me as a striker, a wrestler and a jiu-jitsu practitioner. I want to showcase all aspects of my game.”

The physical demands of the sport have also changed how she views injuries. Away from training, prayer has become a source of calm. “I pray,” she says. “Earlier, I used to be very aggressive and would get into a different zone before a fight. But over the last two or three years, I have started praying regularly. I follow Jesus and read the Bible. It gives me a lot of positivity and helps me stay calm…”

Her next fight is yet to be confirmed, but Tomar is already preparing for her return. “Nothing has been confirmed yet, but hopefully, it will happen soon. I want people to see the best version of Puja Tomar in my next fight — the fighter I truly am, but perhaps haven’t been able to show so far. I am about to begin my fight preparations and hope to be back in the octagon soon,” she says with a smile.

(Sony Sports Network and Sony LIV are the official broadcasters of the UFC in India)