PUJA TOMAR: 'THE CYCLONE' FULFILLING HER FATHER'S DREAM, GUNNING TO BE INDIA'S FIRST UFC CHAMPION

On June 9, sports fans in India were preparing for another high-intensity cricket match with Pakistan in the T20 World Cup 2024 at the Nassau County stadium in New York. However, in the early hours of that day, a 30-year-old Indian stepped into the UFC octagon and created history. Puja 'The Cyclone' Tomar defeated Brazilian Rayanne dos Santos via split decision to win on her UFC debut at the UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Imavov event and become the first Indian to win a fight in the promotion.

The morning hours in India saw the media scramble around looking for more information on this fighter, who had made the nation proud on the grandest stage in MMA. Everyone had one question in their mind. Who is Pooja Tomar?

Speaking to India Today in an exclusive interaction, the 30-year-old said she wanted people to search about her as she wanted people to know about her story and the hard work behind it.

"This very question of 'who is Pooja Tomar?', I wanted people to search for that, thinking that people should know who I am after so much hard work," said Puja.

Beginning of The Cyclone: Jackie Chan movies and out to prove a point

Puja comes from Budhana in village, where the Cyclone started her journey to the world of MMA. The 30-year-old said growing up, she would see that in her village, the preference was always given to boys rather than girls. She said she always carried the thought of showing girls are equally good as compared to boys.

"From childhood I had a passion for fighting. In my village, I have seen that when it came to boys and girls, everyone liked boys more. So it was there inside me that I need to prove that I can be better than the boys. That thought was there from childhood, that I wanted to show that girls aren't less when compared to boys," said Puja.

Puja also pointed out how she would get angered by people when they would come to taunt her mother after her father's death and felt like fighting all of them. The 30-year-old said she was inspired by Jackie Chan movies and took up martial arts, with a stubbornness to protect her family and learn self-defence.

"After my father's death, everyone would say to my mother, 'Poor girl, her husband is no more, how will she manage the house?' So, I felt like I wanted to fight all these people who would say such things to my mother."

"Watching Jackie Chan movies, learning martial arts, it became a stubbornness to learn self-defence and protect my family. I didn't think it would turn into a sport. But I always wanted to play sports from my childhood," said Puja.

Father's dream and mother's pep talk

In many interviews, Puja has stated how her father wanted her and her sisters to become athletes. Unfortunately, he passed away when Puja was still young but the dream still lived inside the Cyclone. After her win against Rayenne, Puja feels she has been able to complete her father's dream for her. She said that her thoughts after winning in her UFC debut was how happy her father would have been seeing her on the big stage and under the bright lights.

"Absolutely, his dream is fulfilled because creating history for India is a big deal. And since childhood, my father wanted us to advance. My sisters always had dreams to become doctors or lawyers, but I always wanted to fight. I don't know how, but I was always into fighting. When I won this fight, I thought about how my father would feel if he was here today. He was sad when he had a girl, so I was thinking how happy he would have been seeing me on this big stage," said Puja.

Puja's mother has also been a big support to her in her MMA journey. The Cyclone said, just like a hardened MMA coach, her mother would brush aside the injuries she would get in a fight, saying it's not serious and even provide her pep talk after she would lose a fight early in her career.

"She always says that it's okay, it's not a serious injury, you'll get better. She is stronger than me, and if I lose a fight, she guides me on what to do better next time. She is amazing," said Puja.

The mindset on Indian fighters

Post-match interviews in UFC are always eye-catching as the fighters let pour their heart out. Puja loudly claimed in her interview that 'Indians aren't losers' and it left many caught off guard. The 30-year-old explained the reason behind and said she felt a cold vibe towards Indian fighters ahead of her bout as many would easily write them off.

"Yes, before my fight, I had interviews from different countries, and I don't want to name any specific country. But yes, during those interviews, they were very casual. They asked if I thought I could win the fight, as previous Indian fighters couldn't. I said that I had trained hard and my coach worked very hard. Their attitude was very dismissive, as if they were sure I would lose. Many fighters from other countries see Indian fighters and think it will be an easy fight. So, I wanted to change that perception with this fight," said Puja.

While Puja can see a change in mindset back home, with many parents ready to push their kids into MMA, she feels a lack of good academies in India is a concern.

"Yes, this mindset has changed to some extent. And even today, when I go to the village, some parents come home and ask how to teach their kids. But there is no answer to that because there are no proper academies in India for martial arts. Even today, there aren't many proper academies. So, Indian parents' mentality has changed, but there is no scope yet on how to proceed," said Puja.

The dream?

There's a lot of hype now around Puja and how far she can go in the UFC. The 30-year-old set the record straight that she wants to show where India stands in the MMA world by becoming the first Indian UFC Champion and bringing the title home.

"Even after this fight, I see that people are still not fully aware. Some people know me, but I know that the day I win the UFC belt, the whole world will know where India stands. My dream is to perform well in upcoming fights and bring the UFC belt to India," said Puja.

Before winding up, a simple question was posed to Puja. What would have been her father's reaction to her UFC win if he was there. With a smile her face, the 30-year-old had a simple answer to the question.

"I am proud of you."

2024-06-24T08:29:34Z dg43tfdfdgfd