Rabindra Dhant is chasing history and bringing Nepal into the UFC spotlight

Rabindra Dhant, 27, will walk into the Galaxy Arena in Macau on May 28 and do something no Nepalese fighter has ever done: participate in the Road to UFC tournament, two wins away from a UFC contract.After several years of trying, Dhant got his big break with Road to UFC, a win-and-advance tournament that offers top MMA prospects from across Asia-Pacific a direct path to the UFC, and he will face Kimbert Alintozon of the Philippines in the quarterfinals.Ask him what it was like to be selected for Road to UFC Season 5, and he won’t give you the answer you expect.“Indifferent,” he says through his coach and interpreter, Diwize Piya Lam, while speaking to TimesofIndia.com. “It’s not the first year we’ve tried. We’ve been pushing for it as a team for probably the second or third year in a row. So when it finally happened, it felt like a step in the right direction, but there’s still a long way to go. He’s put in the work in the weight room. It’s work. Just work he’s got to do.”It’s a calm and measured response, even as it stands at the pinnacle of history. No Nepali has ever signed with the UFC. No Nepalese fighter has ever competed at this level of the sport’s global infrastructure. In any case, Dhant is in unprecedented territory for his country, but when asked about the pressure, his answer remains unchanged.“The questions put more pressure on him than the fight,” Lama says with a laugh. “He doesn’t feel any pressure from the fight itself.Creating the best MMA prospects in NepalDhant’s path to the UFC door says a lot more about his mindset ahead of the biggest night of his career.Hailing from Bajhang, a village in far western Nepal where the sport is not seen, Dhant had a tough and long journey that took him to India at a young age, doing manual labor and office work serving tea and cleaning. MMA was never on the cards, but karate training at odd hours kept him grounded, without the support of family or institutional structure.However, the results were anything but quiet.He went 15 matches unbeaten on the Indian regional amateur circuits. He won the Indian National Amateur MMA Championship in 2019 and 2020, a feat that should have qualified him for the World Amateur Championship.However, Nepal’s MMA infrastructure at the time was not equipped to send a fighter to an international amateur competition. He was qualified but just couldn’t go.“It was a salty phase,” he says through his trainer and interpreter Lama. “He put in the work, won two tournaments in a row and it didn’t apply on the international stage.Then came a lucrative offer. Recognizing his talent, he was given a way out: take Indian citizenship, compete internationally and build a career on a better-resourced platform. He refused it. He decided to keep his Nepalese passport.“Thank God he didn’t,” Lama says on his behalf, laughing. “Right now, the way things are, people would burn us alive.

Ravindra Dhant with his trainer Diwiz Piya Lama

Diwiz Piya Lama: The coach who supported himThe Lama who was Dhanta’s voice during this interaction was also his guiding light. Lama, a jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai practitioner based in Kathmandu, saw Dhant fight and decided to invest in him personally. Lama financed the training camp at the Fairtex Gym in Thailand, covering the cost out of his own pocket. It turned out to be worth it.In September 2023, Dhant made his ONE Championship debut in Bangkok, defeating Russia’s Torepchi Dongak by TKO in the third round. He became the first Nepalese fighter to win a match in ONE Championship. He then stopped undefeated Indian bantamweight champion Chungreng Koren in the third round at Matrix Fight Night 17 in Greater Noida in August 2025 to become the first Nepalese to win a major international MMA title.“Winning was more important than anything else,” he says when asked about the reception that followed – a meeting with the mayor of Kathmandu, a cash prize and recognition.“If he had lost, there would have been no president, no mayor, no minister. At the end of the day, it’s a victory and a task. Those side tasks don’t really mean much.”His original opponent, Australian Matty Iann, withdrew injured before the match. Filipino fighter Alintozon, a 7-3 bantamweight with a record six finishes, stepped in on short notice. Dhant’s preparation, he says, required no dramatic fixes.“He didn’t train so specifically for Matty that the whole system had to change. He did his due diligence and kept doing what he was doing. No drastic change.”Despite the accolades, Dhant is grounded and, as he says, it’s work. The win moves Dhant into the semi-finals of the Road to UFC. Two wins provide a UFC contract: the first in Nepal’s history. So what does a victory in Macau on May 28 mean for him?“A stepping stone to what it’s meant to be.”Watch Road to UFC (Day 1) – Round of 16 – Day 1 (Rong Zhu vs. Martinez) on 28 May 2026 at 3:30 PM IST live and exclusively on Sony Sports Ten 1 SD & HD.