Watch: Puja Tomar receives hero's welcome and is honored upon returning to her home village in India after UFC debut win
At UFC Louisville, strawweight contender Puja Tomar made history by becoming the first Indian fighter to register a win in the world's premier MMA promotion. The momentous win has her hometown of Muzaffarnagar overjoyed.
A video posted by the fighter on Instagram shows Muzaffarnagar celebrating their hometown hero by parading her around town, with vehicle escorts, bursting firecrackers, and playing hit Bollywood songs.
The footage also shows the fighter, clad in the Indian tricolor, being honored with flower garlands by fans and the elders of the community.
Check out the video below:
On June 8, the 30-year-old took on Rayanne dos Santos in the prelims card of the event. With a background in wushu, Tomar used her trusty sidekick to keep her opponent at a distance during the contest, even putting the Brazilian on the canvas once.
She also showed tremendous grit and ferocity as she dug her heels and readily traded with her opponent, especially during the final round. After a hard-fought three rounds, the judges gave the debutant from Uttar Pradesh a split decision win.
Watch a ferocious Puja Tomar trade punches with Ratanne dos Santos below:
Starting her career at the Super Fight League (SFL), Tomar later fought under One Championship before raising her stock by winning the MFN strawweight championship.
'The Cyclone' holds an MMA record of 9-4 and is currently on a five-fight win streak. According to Tapology, she is currently the No.60-ranked strawweight in the world.
Puja Tomar explains why she screamed at her opponent at UFC Louisville
During the third round of her UFC debut, Puja Tomar let out a ferocious war cry, challenging her opponent to engage with her. Talking to Chamatkar Sandhu during a post-fight interview, 'The Cyclone' explained the intent behind the scream.
Tomar was in no mood to let her opponent intimidate her like Mike Breeden tried to intimidate her countryman Anshul Jubilee during his promotional debut. She said:
"In Ashul's fight, I saw the guy was screaming at him. So I thought no, she is not going to frighten me. She screamed at me, so I screamed back at her even more. I'm not a loser, I can defeat you. [Traslated from Hindi]."
Check out Puja Tomar's comments below (2:05):