Puja Tomar
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A brief biography
As in 2024 June
Himanshi Dhawan, June 16, 2024: The Times of India
Puja Tomar first started fighting out of anger, then for money and finally for respect. The third daughter in a Jat family living in Uttar Pradesh’s Budhana village in Muzaffarnagar, Tomar knew her life was defined by what she was not. She was not a boy and she was not really desired, not by her family, or her relatives and, definitely, not by her community.
On June 9, Tomar did something that made everyone change their minds. She made history, not only as the first-ever Indian female fighter to sign up with Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), but also as the first Indian to win a bout. Dedicating her win to her mother and country, Tomar said, “This is not just my win. This win is for all Indian fans and all Indian fighters who people didn’t think could stand here.”
FIGHTING SPIRIT
To be fair, her father, a tractor dealer, quickly reconciled to the hand fate had dealt him and loved all three daughters in his own special way. He wanted them to be tough and athletic and ready to face the harsh world. “Main bachpan main sochti thi, sab duniya so rahi hai aur hum daud rahe hain (I used to wonder why we are running when the whole village is asleep),” she recalls now. Tomar’s father died in an accident when she was six and suddenly everything changed. “From being pampered with new clothes to struggling for two meals a day, it was a big shock for our family. But my mother is a very strong person and made sure all of us got an education.”
Her older sisters showed academic prowess—one is now a doctor and the other a nurse — but Tomar couldn’t quite see herself hitting the books. She would much rather hit boys instead. “I knew that everyone liked boys more than girls. So, I thought if I beat them up, people will like me,” says Tomar, who watched Jackie Chan films to pick up some tricks. It helped relieve some of the frustration she felt at the time as relatives bore down on her mother to stop her from going out and hanging around boys. Days would be spent on the small piece of land where the family grew sugarcane, their only source of sustenance.
In school, Tomar tried karate, even winning a couple of competitions and honing a deadly sidekick. “I was a street fighter. Lots of strength from hours spent on the farm but no technique,” she adds. Tomar stumbled on martial arts Wushu when she was about 17 and quickly learned to excel in it despite very little guidance or help, picking up five national championship titles. Her mother’s mantra was always on her mind: ‘Darna nahi hai, maarna hai’ (Don’t be scared, fight hard) “I was winning but not earning, and though everyone at home supported me, I knew that there was a fund crunch,” she says. Medical college fees for her sister had meant an additional burden. In 2017, Tomar was offered Rs 50,000 for a mixed martial arts (MMA) fight. “All I asked was ‘where?’ I was willing to fight anyone to earn a few bucks,” she recalls.
As she grappled, kicked and boxed her way, she was spotted by the Matrix Fight Night (MFN) company promoted by Bollywood star Tiger Shroff, his mother Ayesha and sister Krishna. In 2022, Ayesha Shroff offered to pay for her training at the Soma Fight Club in Bali, Indonesia. Things finally seem to be looking up. “They said I had potential, but I needed to train properly,” Tomar says. So, at 28, Tomar finally found a dedicated coach who corrected her technique, gave her a game plan against her opponents, and monitored her exercise and diet. “Pitte, pitte…peetna seekha.” (After being beaten up several times, I learnt how to outwit others.)
WINNING BOUT
In June 2023, Tomar stepped into the ring and won the MFN world championship. “I came back home and gave my mother the championship belt. Again, some boy from the village created trouble. He told her this was a small belt, and that I should bring back the big belt which is the UFC one. He didn’t even let me enjoy my win for a day,” she laughs.
Exactly a year later, when she stepped into the Octagon for the UFC bout on June 9, she was fighting for respect. After the second round of the tough 15-minute fight, Tomar felt fatigue creeping and she remembers her coach shaking her, “Ankhen khol aur maar” (Open your eyes and hit). “I just summoned whatever willpower I had.” Her Brazilian opponent Rayanne dos Santos tried to intimidate her by screaming, and Tomar screamed right back. And then landed her signature sidekick sending dos Santos flying across the ring. Her kicks and punches didn’t stop as her coach’s words rang in her ears, “Don’t buckle, keep standing no matter what.” The last five minutes felt like an eternity, Tomar says, as she eked out a 30-27, 27-30, 29-28 split-decision win. “I just collapsed after that,” she says.
Her sparring partner of 12 years Himanshu Kaushik says he has never met anyone as strong-willed as her. “It is what has defined her in all these years of struggle,” he says. Post-match, Tomar was treated to pizza “chicken wala with buffalo sauce” which was a sorry substitute for her most favourite thing in the world: sarson ka saag and makki ki roti, but it still felt like the best meal in the world. The 30-year-old has since been busy giving media interviews and dispensing advice to village girls on how to take off on their MMA journey. “They all want to fight now,” she says with obvious pride.
And on June 13, Budhana welcomed its daughter, hoping to drown the past judgment it had meted out with garlands and dhols.
