Why India’s Chungreng Koren’s UFC dream resonates beyond his own journey

In 2025, Chungreng Koren was adjacent to realising his imagination of making it to the UFC. Not directly, not yet, but done the Road to UFC tournament, the UFC’s authoritative Asia-Pacific endowment pipeline, wherever 2 wins warrant a UFC contract.For Koren, it represented the culmination of years spent trying to carve retired a aboriginal successful combat sports: leaving Manipur to bid successful Bengaluru and Delhi, balancing endurance with ambition, and warring done a beingness shaped by hardship.But the accidental ne'er materialised. Contractual obligations closed that doorway earlier helium could adjacent measurement done it.Shortly afterwards came an adjacent harsher setback. In August 2025, Koren mislaid his Matrix Fight Night bantamweight rubric to Nepal’s Rabindra Dhant, the astir damaging decision of his nonrecreational career.For a combatant who had built momentum done a drawstring of assertive finishes, the nonaccomplishment felt similar everything helium had spent years constructing had abruptly collapsed.Koren admits present that the aftermath pushed him into depression. But stopping was ne'er genuinely an option.A twelvemonth connected from that heartbreak, the 28-year-old has recovered himself backmost astatine the doorstep of the aforesaid dream. Initially named arsenic the backup combatant for the Road to UFC Season 5 bantamweight bracket successful Macau, Koren’s accidental arrived aft South Korea’s Shin You-min withdrew owed to a genu injury.

The telephone came, and Koren answered it immediately. The imagination helium thought had slipped distant was live again.“After my past combat loss, I went into slump for immoderate clip due to the fact that fighters ever privation to support warring and moving forward. Then abruptly I got the connection that I had been selected arsenic a backup combatant for Road to UFC,” Koren recalled.“I was precise affectional and precise blessed because, for me, UFC has ever been a dream.

Even though it was arsenic a replacement, I saw it arsenic different accidental to beryllium myself and proceed my journey. When I yet got confirmation that I would fight, I became affectional again due to the fact that I knew moments similar this bash not travel easily.For me, this feels much similar gratitude and different accidental to combat for my dream,” helium said speaking connected Ultimate Guide to UFC for Sony Sports Network.

More Than Just Another Fight Opportunity

Koren volition present measurement into the Road to UFC Season 5 quarterfinals astatine Galaxy Arena, Macau, against the undefeated Japanese bantamweight Ryuho Miyaguchi, who carries a 7-0 nonrecreational grounds and competes retired of Japan’s elite Shooto and Gladiator MMA circuits.Taller, technically polished, and tested successful a deeper home ecosystem, Miyaguchi represents a importantly stiffer situation for Koren.On the time of the weigh-in, determination was a scare with Koren missing his value by 3.5 lbs, but Miyaguchi accepted the fight.

Yet, Koren’s combat has agelong extended beyond what happens wrong the cage.Born successful Kamu Koireng village, Manipur, with constricted infrastructure and opportunity, Koren’s beingness had seen conflict agelong earlier nonrecreational MMA entered the picture.

His begetter passed distant earlier helium was born. Years later, the decease of his member successful 2019 near him carrying the load of supporting his family.There were periods erstwhile athletics itself felt unsustainable, erstwhile wrestling and MMA appeared little similar ambition, and much similar luxury. But the radical closest to him refused to fto him locomotion away.“In the beginning, I was chiefly warring for myself and my dream. But present it is overmuch bigger due to the fact that I person responsibilities.

I combat for my mother, my woman and my kid due to the fact that they supported maine adjacent during the hardest times successful my career."There was a play erstwhile I had astir stopped wrestling and my beingness was going successful the incorrect direction, but my woman and my parent encouraged maine to instrumentality to sports and support fighting. So erstwhile I locomotion retired now, I transportation my family, my radical and my state with me. The imagination is inactive the same, but present the work down it is overmuch bigger,” helium said.

The Dagestan Trip That Rebuilt Koren

And that consciousness of work deed the combatant from the Koireng tribe, adjacent much aft the Dhant defeat. Even though the nonaccomplishment hurt, determination was nary abstraction to either vanish for agelong oregon beryllium broken. Instead, Koren chose to recalibrate.That took him to Dagestan, Russia, the famed breeding crushed of elite MMA wrestlers and UFC champions. It was there, amid immoderate of the toughest grooming environments successful the sport, that Koren rebuilt some his crippled and his mindset.“Before going there, I was mentally precise debased aft the loss. But I knew I had responsibilities - my mother, my woman and my kid beryllium connected me, truthful I could not stop.“In Dagestan and during my grooming camps, I trained with galore beardown fighters, UFC fighters and experienced wrestlers and strikers. I learned method wrestling, striking and subject astatine a antithetic level.Earlier my benignant was much based connected toughness and pressure, but aft grooming determination I understood much astir technique, timing and finishing.

I besides became much disciplined successful grooming and mentally stronger from the experience,” helium said.

The Growing Presence Of Indian MMA Fighters

Now, the value of Road to UFC successful Macau extends beyond Koren alone. The paper marks a uncommon and notable infinitesimal for Indian and South Asian MMA practice connected the UFC platform.Apart from India’s UFC trailblazer Puja Tomar competing successful a peculiar diagnostic bout, the lawsuit volition besides diagnostic Nepal’s Rabindra Dhant, the aforesaid combatant who dethroned Koren astatine MFN.Interestingly, the precise archetypal variation of the tourney produced Indian MMA past erstwhile Anshul Jubli won the lightweight tourney successful 2023 to go India’s archetypal combatant to unafraid a UFC declaration done the promotion’s authoritative pathway system.Against that backdrop, the beingness of aggregate Indian fighters connected the Macau paper signals the increasing visibility of the region’s MMA ecosystem.

For Koren, however, the infinitesimal carries profoundly idiosyncratic meaning.He remembers borrowing wealth conscionable to registry for his archetypal fights. He remembers balancing grooming with manual labour successful atom fields backmost home. He remembers coaches and villagers helping him proceed astatine moments erstwhile quitting would person been the easier option.“I travel from a precise hard background, and determination was a clip erstwhile adjacent continuing sports felt impossible. Many radical supported maine erstwhile I had nothing, including my coaches and radical from my village.

Because of that, I ever privation to amusement that fighters from Manipur and India tin scope the highest level if they get enactment and opportunities.This Road to UFC level is important due to the fact that radical from my authorities and from India tin present spot idiosyncratic from their inheritance warring connected this stage. Whether I triumph oregon lose, I privation younger fighters to judge that they tin besides imagination bigger and enactment towards these opportunities,” helium said.

The Possibility Of Another Dhant Showdown

Professionally, Koren’s travel has been 1 of hard-earned progression. Training crossed Bengaluru and different MMA hubs successful India portion sharpening his wrestling roots, helium built a estimation done his pressure-heavy benignant and finishing ability.Before the nonaccomplishment to Dhant, helium had enactment unneurotic an awesome winning streak and established himself arsenic 1 of Matrix Fight Night’s standout bantamweights. The decision halted that emergence abruptly.Now, destiny has placed some fighters connected other sides of the aforesaid Road to UFC bracket. If some proceed winning, a rematch could await successful the final, this clip with a UFC declaration connected the line.Koren, though, is cautious not to look excessively acold ahead.“Right present my afloat absorption is connected the hostile successful beforehand of maine and performing good successful Road to UFC. But of course, Dhant is portion of my travel due to the fact that I mislaid my loop successful that fight. After that loss, I rebuilt myself and worked harder connected each portion of my game.If some of america scope the last and conscionable again, past it would beryllium a precise important combat due to the fact that this clip the stakes would beryllium adjacent bigger with a UFC declaration connected the line. For now, I conscionable privation to absorption 1 combat astatine a clip and beryllium myself wrong the cage,” helium said.

A twelvemonth ago, Koren was dealing with the fallout of a crushing decision and different mislaid opportunity. Today, helium stands 2 wins distant from the UFC and a accidental of validating each sacrifice that carried him this far.Chungreng Koren faces Ryuho Miyaguchi successful the Road to UFC Season 5 bantamweight quarterfinal connected May 28, 2026, astatine Galaxy Arena, Macau. The lawsuit airs connected UFC Fight Pass and Sony Sports Network.