THE JUBLI EFFECT
India’s tether with the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) world has witnessed a steady upward trend since Uttarakhand-born Anshul Jubli’s pathbreaking journey to the UFC.
While Anshul’s milestone UFC debut ended in defeat in October, it has not deterred his young and sprouting fanbase and all MMA aspirants back home. The UFC’S special interest in nurturing Indian talent was also evident when young Sumit Kumar and
Rana Rudra Pratap Singh made it to the second season of the Road to UFC. It is reported that at least five Indian fighters will be swooped up for special training at the UFC Performance Institute in Shanghai in early 2024.
Meanwhile, India’s female fighters have treaded an obscure walkway before two seasoned athletes forged their spotlight.
Puja Tomar (left), hailing from Uttar Pradesh, mastered the art of wushu before moving into MMA in early 2013. Her neighbourhood in Muzaffarnagar barely professed any affinity to the fight world. But almost exactly a decade since her maiden professional fight, the 28-year-old Puja signed a landmark contract with the UFC — the world's biggest fight promotion — as the first Indian woman on its roster. Having fought four times in the now-defunct Super Fight League, Puja branched out to the premier South Asian ONE Championship in 2017. Alien to the new turf, Puja struggled to put in noteworthy performances, losing four of her five bouts — a split decision defeat to American Bi Nguyen being of marked significance in hindsight.
Puja sought some home spirit and received it in the form of a Matrix Fight Night (MFN) contract in India. Redeeming herself with four successive wins, Puja also bagged the strawweight title by thumping Nguyen this time in the MFN circuit, propelling her to the forefront of South Asia’s leading female fighters in the division.
Puja (8-4-0) trains with a breed of fighters that share a similar vision at the SOMA Fight Club in Bali, Indonesia — a facility shared by fellow Indian fighters Anshul and
Ritu Phogat.
Breaking the shackles
Hailing from the foothills of the Shivalik range in Chandigarh, 32-year-old Priya Sharma is another fighter who has used the MFN springboard to great effect. Coursing through societal pressure and the bindings of a typical middle-class household, Priya had walked away from MMA early on in her career before making a decisive U-turn.
A thoroughbred in jiu-jitsu, Priya dominated the Indian MMA circuit to become the first flyweight champion in the country in 2018. While she made her pro-mma debut in 2019 with a win in Mumbai, Priya battled the capricious nature of the sport with two wins and as many losses in her subsequent fights with the Fairtex promotion in Thailand.
It only took a single fight with the MFN — a win over Jojo Rajakumari — in November 2022 before Priya bagged a rare opportunity in Brazil with SFT Combat, the country's largest MMA promotion.
With a move to the strawweight division, Priya has since waltzed Brazilian Ireni Oliveira on her SFT debut. Priya trains at the home gym of current UFC strawweight Amanda Ribas — Academia Ribas Family in Varginha. Priya’s stellar maiden outing has prompted SFT to host her within a week of her previous fight, marking a clash with Russia’s Alisa Savaleva at SFT 45 in Sao Paulo.
Another win would draw Priya (6-1-0) closer to the UFC. While the journey to the Octagon may prove a mirage, Priya will hold on to compatriot Puja's course ahead of her as she awaits her historic UFC debut, one that will open the floodgates for another tribe of MMA hopefuls.