EXCLUSIVE | ‘Lot Of Weight On Her Shoulders’, MMA Analyst Arjun Chipalkatti On Puja Tomar Bagging UFC Contract
New Delhi: Veteran MMA fighter Puja Tomar recently bagged a UFC contract and became the first Indian women fighter to sign with the global promotion Ultimate Fighting Championship. Her debut inside the octagon becomes more important for the Indian MMA community as Anshul Jubli, another rising prospect from India failed to secure a win on his UFC debut despite an impressive outing.
In an exclusive conversation with India.com, renowned MMA Analyst Arjun Chipalkatti said it is a big honor for everyone in India to have Puja performing on such a huge stage but that also put a lot of weight on her shoulders ahead of her debut.
“She’s on the way. I can’t wait to see how she performs. She’s such a, you know, just like Anshul, she’s young, she’s 28 years old. She’s coming into one of the biggest organizations at the right time. She’s coming with great experience. She’s fought internationally, she’s fought nationally, she won her last fight at Matrix and she’s gotten the blessings of Aisha Shroff as well. And I saw that post that she put up on Instagram. It was very, very heart-throbbing,” said Arjun Chipalkatti.
“It’s really heartwarming to see the humility and the humbleness with which both these guys, both Anshul and Pooja now, who’s got her chance now to go into the UFC, the humility with which she’s taking her opportunity shows me that, this new wave of Indian fighters who are now getting their chances to step forward through hard work and dedication. It warms my heart to see it actually happen. it’s a big, big honor and it’s a lot of weight on her shoulders as well,” he added.
In her last bout, Puja Tomar reigned supreme in Matrix Fight Night’s first-ever all-women’s main event against her Russian opponent Anastasia Feofanova in a gruelling bout at MFN 12 in Noida Indoor Stadium and retained her strawweight title.
The thrilling main event ran for four rounds. In the first round, Puja Tomar landed a left-hand hook on her opponent’s face and took her down to the ground. Using her long legs, Anastasia managed to keep Puja at bay. With her height advantage, Anastasia locked Puja in a hold, but the Champion pulled herself out and landed powerful kicks to rattle the Russian on Saturday.
Puja showcased tremendous defensive prowess as the bout progressed and despite Anastasia’s long reach, managed to keep her opponent at a distance. Puja kept targeting Anastasia’s left knee, using powerful kicks to wear down her opponent. With combination attacks, Puja landed heavy face blows on the Russian, earning key points.
After intense four rounds, Puja was declared the winner via TKO with a corner stoppage due to Anastasia breaking her forearm from defending Puja’s heavy blows.