Meerut: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter Pooja Tomar (30), from Bijlore in Baghpat district, has created history by becoming the first Indian woman to win the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
She achieved this feat on Saturday with a split decision victory over Brazil's Rayanne dos Santos in the 52kg weight class in Louisville, Kentucky, USA.
After his win, Tomar said, “I thank Chachaji and Tauji of Bijloor village for their blessings. I will visit them when I return to India.”
The people of Bijlol are overjoyed to hear this message and are preparing to give her a grand welcome.
Amit Tomar (31), Pooja's cousin from Vijlore, said, “She last came to Vijlore in February 2022 after winning an overseas tournament. She didn't know much about the sport then.”
Pooja's uncle, Krishan Pal Singh, 71, said their family were farmers and that Pooja started working in the family fields when she was just four years old, which gave her strength and perseverance.
“She was only eight years old when her father died in a road accident. The youngest of three sisters, she was sent to live with her maternal uncle (Mamaji) in Bhopal, where she finished school and learned martial arts. By the time she was 20, she had won five national and state-level martial arts championships before winning international mixed martial arts championships in Indonesia and the US,” said Krishan Pal.
“There are many wrestlers (pehelwans) in our family who are Puja's taujis and chachajis. They are Puja's inspirations and she grew up among them. Pooja's two elder sisters are doctors and live in London and Delhi after marriage,” Pal said.
“Around 50 years ago, Pooja's family migrated from Bijlore to Budhana village in Muzaffarnagar. Her family, including descendants of the 1857 martyrs, still live in Bijlore. Bijlore is a land that produces loyal and brave warriors,” said Yashpal Tomar, another uncle of Pooja.
Amit Pathak, author of 1857: A Living History and research fellow at the Centre for Military History Studies, spoke about the legacy of the Vigilors.
“Shah Mal from Bijlore led a huge force of around 8,000 peasants against the British and attacked them, strategically destroying a bridge over river Yamuna, which was the only direct route between Meerut and the British headquarters in Delhi during the 1857 uprising. Though they fought bravely, they were no match for the well-organised British forces and a large number of villagers were killed,” Pathak said.
She achieved this feat on Saturday with a split decision victory over Brazil's Rayanne dos Santos in the 52kg weight class in Louisville, Kentucky, USA.
After his win, Tomar said, “I thank Chachaji and Tauji of Bijloor village for their blessings. I will visit them when I return to India.”
The people of Bijlol are overjoyed to hear this message and are preparing to give her a grand welcome.
Amit Tomar (31), Pooja's cousin from Vijlore, said, “She last came to Vijlore in February 2022 after winning an overseas tournament. She didn't know much about the sport then.”
Pooja's uncle, Krishan Pal Singh, 71, said their family were farmers and that Pooja started working in the family fields when she was just four years old, which gave her strength and perseverance.
“She was only eight years old when her father died in a road accident. The youngest of three sisters, she was sent to live with her maternal uncle (Mamaji) in Bhopal, where she finished school and learned martial arts. By the time she was 20, she had won five national and state-level martial arts championships before winning international mixed martial arts championships in Indonesia and the US,” said Krishan Pal.
“There are many wrestlers (pehelwans) in our family who are Puja's taujis and chachajis. They are Puja's inspirations and she grew up among them. Pooja's two elder sisters are doctors and live in London and Delhi after marriage,” Pal said.
“Around 50 years ago, Pooja's family migrated from Bijlore to Budhana village in Muzaffarnagar. Her family, including descendants of the 1857 martyrs, still live in Bijlore. Bijlore is a land that produces loyal and brave warriors,” said Yashpal Tomar, another uncle of Pooja.
Amit Pathak, author of 1857: A Living History and research fellow at the Centre for Military History Studies, spoke about the legacy of the Vigilors.
“Shah Mal from Bijlore led a huge force of around 8,000 peasants against the British and attacked them, strategically destroying a bridge over river Yamuna, which was the only direct route between Meerut and the British headquarters in Delhi during the 1857 uprising. Though they fought bravely, they were no match for the well-organised British forces and a large number of villagers were killed,” Pathak said.
