00:00She didn't saw it, I felt like that because I went and she didn't do it, so I just did like that, you know.
00:06That's Indian MMA fighter Sonam Zomba posing with Russia's Anna Safiva, whom she defeated right after this moment.
00:12To win the strawweight championship at MFN, one of India's biggest MMA promotions run by the Shroff family.
00:20But how does a girl from a small village in Arunachal end up in this sport?
00:24Karate is the most developed city in the Northeast. I came here to study, I thought I'll do MMA as a self-defense and learn some, you know, learn some like loose weight and everything.
00:35FII, Mixed Martial Arts, MMA, is a blend of various fighting styles. Boxing, wrestling, jiu-jitsu, karate and more.
00:41It's not in the Olympics because the IOC considers it too violent. So if it hurts this much, how much did it hurt her?
00:47Getting hurt is a part of life. If you want to do something big, you have to go through that.
00:51At first, Sonam never took the sport too seriously, until...
00:54Babaji Sir, he's my coach. He always used to tell me, give me two years and if you can't do anything, you can go and do whatever you want. Just give me two years.
01:05In 10 years, there were many times that I didn't want to feel like training and all. If he feels like, you know, I'm just shaking it, you'll just shut up and train.
01:14In the Northeast, MMA has gone from niche to mainstream. Fueled by a cultural affinity for combat sports, rising local stars, grassroots programs and strong institutional backing.
01:23The world is, you know, only like three Indians have been into UFC and only, like, you know, they have only one fight in UFC. So that's how challenging UFC is. So, you know, like, so that's why, you know, like, I want to go there and win many fights.
01:39And with that, a girl who picked up the sport just for self-defense, ended up winning championships. Thanks for watching her journey on...
01:45I'm more for everything.
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