Puja Tomar (MMA) Wiki, Height, Weight, Age, Family, Biography & More

Puja Tomar is an Indian professional mixed martial artist who has fought in the Atomwieght and Strawweight categories in ONE Championship and Matrix Fight Night (MFN). She is the first woman to take part and win the Matrix Fight Night’s first-ever all-women’s main event against her Russian opponent, Anastasia Feofanova. She won the title for the Strawweight category in MFN 10 in 2022 and has previously won multiple fights in the Special Fight League (SFL). In 2023, she was ranked 2nd out of 112 active Middle Eastern women (pound for pound), 9th out of 116 active Asia Southeast women (pound for pound), and 2nd out of 46 active Asia South women (pound for pound).

Wiki/Biography

Puja Tomar was born on Saturday, 5 December 1995 (age 27 years; as of 2023) in Muzaffarpur, District Budhana, Uttar Pradesh, India. Her zodiac sign is Sagittarius.

Puja completed her schooling at a government school in Muzaffarpur and later graduated from a private college. According to her, she completed graduation after getting pressured by her mother. After completing her formal education, she took up martial arts to make a career in it. From an early age, Puja was an active child and wanted to learn martial arts but had no opportunities in her hometown. She used to watch and observe people near her house practising Wushu for hours and practise the moves by herself. At the age of 12, she made a decision to shift to Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, to get better opportunities to learn about marital arts and follow it as a career path. After some time of training in Wushu, she began winning competing at junior and sub-junior levels. To continue her training, she went to Bhopal to join the Sports Authority of India with her sister’s and uncle’s support. There she won multiple medals at the national level and even represented India in the Wushu World Championships. After this, she changed her mind to switch from Wushu to Mixed Martial Arts and followed it professionally. She has been affiliated with Soma Fight Club, and trained under international coaches, Mike Ikilei and Ivan Tomasetti. While recalling her childhood in an interview, she said,

I was an active child, and I used to help my mother with farming. I liked to do sports when I had the time. I used to see wushu and boxing, and I tried to do it like the athletes. At the front of my house, there were some people who used to practice there. I used to stand there and watch them for hours. In my childhood, I learned karate in my school, but I noticed you cannot hit with hard punches in it. I knew I could do better than that, so I told my mom, ‘I want to go elsewhere to become a better athlete. I will work really hard, so please let me go. I was 12 years old when I left my home and went to Meerut to become a better athlete. My mom and sisters supported me a lot in this decision.” ¹

Physical Appearance

Height (approx.): 5′ 1″

Weight (approx.): 52 kg

Hair Colour: Black (often dyes to different colours)

Eye Colour: Black

Figure Measurements (approx.): 32-28-34

Family

Puja Tomar belongs to a farmer’s family in Uttar Pradesh, India.

Parents & Siblings

Puja’s father, Ram Kumar, was a businessman and died when she was 6 years old in a car crash. He was an athlete and would make his daughters train for sports. Her mother, Babita Tomar, worked as a farmer in their own field. In an interview, she said,

The kind of grief I’ve experienced in life has made me tough. How my mother had to stand tall after my father passed away, the situation at home… when I look back at that, the current troubles feel very small. I strengthened myself with those thoughts. Phir life mein jab itna kuch jhel sakte hain toh ye toh kuch nahi hai. When you go through so much in life, this is nothing” ²

Puja and her mother

Puja’s father

She has 2 elder sisters, Anjali Tomar and Anu Tomar. Anu Tomar completed her MBBS in Ukraine and works as a doctor.

Husband & Children

She is unmarried and has no kids.

Religion

Puja Tomar follows Christianity. ³

Career

Wushu Championships

Since her childhood, she used to watch and observe people around her house training for Wushu and boxing. Later on, she started training at Crossfit Fitness Academy and practised the moves informally by herself in a local gym. Thereafter, she enrolled at a martial arts academy in Meerut and started competing in Wushu matches, becoming a popular name among the other players in the academy. She started winning medals and prizes at a young age and, as of 2023, she holds 5 gold medals in Wushu competitions. She later began taking part in National circuits and she represented India in the World Wushu Championship in 2013. In an interview, she recalled her journey and said,

When I played wushu at the junior and sub-junior levels, there was no technique. I only had power, which I used to win. I won my first medal when I was 12 years old in the sub-junior national level. My sister searched on the internet [and found] that if someone is a national medalist, they can go and stay in Bhopal, and the government will pay for the food and accommodations.”

Karate and Taekwondo

During her time at Bhopal, Puja Tomar practised and trained in karate and taekwondo. She earned multiple medals and certificates for participating in various local and national levels. Even after learning these sports, she wanted to get more out of herself and wanted to go on a journey of MMA. On a phone call with Hindustan Times, Puja said,

I’ve been a champion in Wushu but I wanted to play more. Also I didn’t get a proper job despite doing good at the sport, so I switched to professional fighting as we had some problems at home. Then I came to know about MMA where I could earn money and then I gradually shifted to pro-fighting and things started getting better.”

Super Fight League (SFL)

After winning various championships in Wushu, Puja switched her focus to full-time MMA. She started training for MMA and soon got a hang of the sport. She made her debut in the Super Fight League (SFL) on 15 October 2013 against Priyanka Kadam. She won her debut match in round one by a technical knockout in 21 seconds. Her next fight was against Ishu Sood, whom she defeated in round one by a TKO within 24 seconds. In her third match on 3 February 2017 against Hannah Kampf, Puja got her first defeat in MMA by armbar submission in the third round.

 

She had her last match in SFL 2017: Highway to Hell on 12 February 2017 against Thulasi Helen. She won her match by a unanimous decision in round 2. She held a record of 3 wins and 1 loss in SFL before changing her fighting league.

 

ONE Championship

Puja Tomar made her debut in the ONE Championship on 24 November 2017 against Tiffany Teo. She took a loss at her debut match by an armbar submission hold in round one.

She had her next match against Jihin Radzuan on 9 March 2018 and was defeated by a triangle choke hold in round two.

On 19 January 2019, Puja faced Priscilla Hertati Lumban Gaol. She made her first win in the ONE Championship by defeating Gaol by a split unanimous decision.

On 8 September 2019, Puja had a fight scheduled against Bi Nguyen aka Killer Bee, a trained Muay Thai fighter in Dubai. After an extremely intense fight, Tomar lost three out of her four fights for the promotion, hence losing the match by a split decision.

Tomar faced the queen of Thai martial arts, Stamp Fairtex on 10 January 2020 in Bangkok’s Impact Arena. Puja lost to Stamp by Ground and Pound in the first round.

Matrix Fight Night (MFN)

In 2021, Puja Tomar officially signed a contract with Matrix Fight Night (MFN). She had her first match against Jojo Rajkumari on 24 September 2021 at Matrix Fight Night 6. Tomar defeated Rajkumari by a split decision and began her win streak in the MFN.

On 4 June 2022, Tomar faced against Tenzin Pema at MFN 9. Puja dominated the fight and easily won the fight in 20 seconds of round one. Puja defeated Pema by knockout using rapid punches and earned her the title of “Fastest Knockout in MFN.” During her interview in the octagon after winning the fight she said,

When I used to fight in One Championship, I had won a match against an Indonesian, who also used to play Wushu. So my experience in MMA against former Wushu players has been a good one and as per my preparation, I’m confident to deliver very good results”

Puja Tomar vs. Tenzin Pema

On 18 November 2022, a rematch was scheduled between old rivals, Puja Tomar and Bi Dieu Nguyen, aka Killer Bee, at MFN 10 in Palazzo Versace, Dubai. This match was a chance for Puja to win the Strawweight Title belt of the MFN. Tomar won the fight by a TKO in the second round and earned herself the title of the “Strawweight Champion.”

On 1 July 2023, Tomar was to face a defending match for her Strawweight title against Feier Huang at MFN 12. But the bout was cancelled due to unknown reasons and Huang was replaced by Anastasia Feofanova Tomar won the fight by a corner stoppage in the fourth round as Anastasia broke her forearm while defending Puja’s heavy blows. Tomar was able to successfully defend her Strawweight title in this match and remain the undefeated Champion in MFN. After winning the fight, Puja thanked her family by saying,

Before I say anything, I want to thank my late father. I am sure he will be proud to see me. My family’s constant support has been the reason for me reaching this point in my MMA career.”

Puja Tomar defends her title against Anastasia Feofanova

Awards/Titles/Achievements

• 5 Gold Medals in Karate
  

  Puja wins Gold in Karate

• MFM Title Strawweight Title Belt
  

  Puja wins the Strawweight Championship title

• Strawweight Title defence (One Time)
  

  Puja defends her Title belt

• Chief Guest and Cultural Program Award by MP Sports Club
  

  Puja Gets Cultural Program Awards

• Trophy to celebrate Pride as a Sports person by the Government
  

  Puja with her trophy

Car Collection

• Mahindra Thar
  

  Puja’s car

• Audi
  

  Puja driving her Audi

Bike Collection

• Chetak Scooter
  

  Puja on her scooter

• KTM Duke
  

  Puja and her bike

Tattoos

Puja got a tattoo of a face and a rose inked on one of her arms in Thailand in 2018.

She got her nickname “Cyclone” inked on her left bicep.

She has the word “Maa” written in Hindi on her right arm.

She has a pattern-like tattoo on her back.

She got a tattoo of mountains inked on her right shoulder

She got a female face tattoo inked on her right left shoulder.

Favourites

• Actor: Jackie Chan

• Animal: Cats

Facts/Trivia

• Puja is well known among the fans by the nickname “The Cyclone” due to her great striking skills in Wushu and for her representation in National Level competitions.

• As of September 2023, Puja has never lost a match in the Matrix Fight Night (MFN) and she holds a pro MMA record of 8-4-0 (Win-Loss-Draw).

• She is one of the brand ambassadors and a sponsored athlete of the fitness brand, BigMuscles Nutrition.
  

  Puja promoting BigMuscles Nutrition

• Puja occasionally likes to go for a swim.
  

  A picture of Puja in a swimming pool

• Puja holds a black belt in Taekwondo. She is also a five-time Gold Medalist at the National Wushu Championships.

• Puja has given various seminars to people on self-defence in different parts of India.
  

  Puja’s seminar for self-defence

• Puja occasionally consumes alcohol.
  

  Puja consuming alcohol

• Puja loves to play with animals and spend time with them.
  

  Puja playing with a baby monkey

  

  Puja with birds

• After her father’s death, Puja and her sisters used to work at a farm and manage different responsibilities of the household.

• According to Puja, she wanted to learn to fight in order to protect her sister. As a young teenager, she used to engage in many fights with her neighbourhood boys who used to either tease her or her sister. Her mother encouraged her to take a stand and fight regularly to keep herself strong and follow the life of an athlete. ⁴

• Puja consumes a non-vegetarian based diet.
  

  Puja’s non-veg diet

• Puja Tomar has her own YouTube page with over 430 videos and 1.3k subscribers uploaded as of September 2023.
  

  Puja Tomar’s YouTube page

• Puja likes to train with various combat athletes like Ritu Phogat, Asha Roka, Garmima Choudhary, Suchika Tariyal Hooda, and many other well-established personalities to improve and learn from them.
  

  Puja Tomar with Asha Roka, Garmima Choudhary, and Suchika Tariyal Hooda

• Puja’s mother had to sell her their land in order to support her financially in her career.

1. ONE FC
2. Scroll.in
3. Instgram
4. Facebook- New Alert 366