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

In 2025, Chungreng Koren was close to realising his dream of making it to the UFC. Not directly, not yet, but through the Road to UFC tournament, the UFC’s official Asia-Pacific talent pipeline, where two wins guarantee a UFC contract.For Koren, it represented the culmination of years spent trying to carve out a future in combat sports: leaving Manipur to train in Bengaluru and Delhi, balancing survival with ambition, and fighting through a life shaped by hardship.But the opportunity never materialised. Contractual obligations closed that door before he could even step through it.Shortly afterwards came an even harsher setback. In August 2025, Koren lost his Matrix Fight Night bantamweight title to Nepal’s Rabindra Dhant, the most damaging defeat of his professional career.For a fighter who had built momentum through a string of aggressive finishes, the loss felt like everything he had spent years constructing had suddenly collapsed.Koren admits now that the aftermath pushed him into depression. But stopping was never truly an option.A year on from that heartbreak, the 28-year-old has found himself back at the doorstep of the same dream. Initially named as the backup fighter for the Road to UFC Season 5 bantamweight bracket in Macau, Koren’s opportunity arrived after South Korea’s Shin You-min withdrew due to a knee injury.

The call came, and Koren answered it immediately. The dream he thought had slipped away was alive again.“After my last fight loss, I went into depression for some time because fighters always want to keep fighting and moving forward. Then suddenly I got the message that I had been selected as a backup fighter for Road to UFC,” Koren recalled.“I was very emotional and very happy because, for me, UFC has always been a dream.

Even though it was as a replacement, I saw it as another opportunity to prove myself and continue my journey. When I finally got confirmation that I would fight, I became emotional again because I knew moments like this do not come easily. For me, this feels more like gratitude and another chance to fight for my dream,” he said speaking on Ultimate Guide to UFC for Sony Sports Network.

More Than Just Another Fight Opportunity

Koren will now step into the Road to UFC Season 5 quarterfinals at Galaxy Arena, Macau, against the undefeated Japanese bantamweight Ryuho Miyaguchi, who carries a 7-0 professional record and competes out of Japan’s elite Shooto and Gladiator MMA circuits.

Taller, technically polished, and tested in a deeper domestic ecosystem, Miyaguchi represents a significantly stiffer challenge for Koren.On the day of the weigh-in, there was a scare with Koren missing his weight by 3.5 lbs, but Miyaguchi accepted the fight.

Yet, Koren’s fight has long extended beyond what happens inside the cage.Born in Kamu Koireng village, Manipur, with limited infrastructure and opportunity, Koren’s life had seen struggle long before professional MMA entered the picture.

His father passed away before he was born. Years later, the death of his brother in 2019 left him carrying the burden of supporting his family.There were periods when sport itself felt unsustainable, when wrestling and MMA appeared less like ambition, and more like luxury. But the people closest to him refused to let him walk away.“In the beginning, I was mainly fighting for myself and my dream. But now it is much bigger because I have responsibilities.

I fight for my mother, my wife and my child because they supported me even during the hardest times in my career. There was a period when I had almost stopped wrestling and my life was going in the wrong direction, but my wife and my mother encouraged me to return to sports and keep fighting.“So when I walk out now, I carry my family, my people and my country with me. The dream is still the same, but now the responsibility behind it is much bigger,” he said.

The Dagestan Trip That Rebuilt Koren

And that sense of responsibility hit the fighter from the Koireng tribe, even more after the Dhant defeat. Even though the loss hurt, there was no space to either disappear for long or be broken. Instead, Koren chose to recalibrate.That took him to Dagestan, Russia, the famed breeding ground of elite MMA wrestlers and UFC champions. It was there, amid some of the toughest training environments in the sport, that Koren rebuilt both his game and his mindset.“Before going there, I was mentally very low after the loss. But I knew I had responsibilities - my mother, my wife and my child depend on me, so I could not stop.“In Dagestan and during my training camps, I trained with many strong fighters, UFC fighters and experienced wrestlers and strikers. I learned technical wrestling, striking and discipline at a different level.Earlier my style was more based on toughness and pressure, but after training there I understood more about technique, timing and finishing.

I also became more disciplined in training and mentally stronger from the experience,” he said.

The Growing Presence Of Indian MMA Fighters

Now, the significance of Road to UFC in Macau extends beyond Koren alone. The card marks a rare and notable moment for Indian and South Asian MMA representation on the UFC platform. Apart from India’s UFC trailblazer Puja Tomar competing in a special feature bout, the event will also feature Nepal’s Rabindra Dhant, the same fighter who dethroned Koren at MFN.Interestingly, the very first edition of the tournament produced Indian MMA history when Anshul Jubli won the lightweight tournament in 2023 to become India’s first fighter to secure a UFC contract through the promotion’s official pathway system. Against that backdrop, the presence of multiple Indian fighters on the Macau card signals the growing visibility of the region’s MMA ecosystem.

For Koren, however, the moment carries deeply personal meaning.He remembers borrowing money just to register for his first fights. He remembers balancing training with manual labour in rice fields back home. He remembers coaches and villagers helping him continue at moments when quitting would have been the easier option.“I come from a very difficult background, and there was a time when even continuing sports felt impossible. Many people supported me when I had nothing, including my coaches and people from my village.

Because of that, I always want to show that fighters from Manipur and India can reach the highest level if they get support and opportunities.This Road to UFC platform is important because people from my state and from India can now see someone from their background fighting on this stage. Whether I win or lose, I want younger fighters to believe that they can also dream bigger and work towards these opportunities,” he said.

The Possibility Of Another Dhant Showdown

Professionally, Koren’s journey has been one of hard-earned progression. Training across Bengaluru and other MMA hubs in India while sharpening his wrestling roots, he built a reputation through his pressure-heavy style and finishing ability.Before the loss to Dhant, he had put together an impressive winning streak and established himself as one of Matrix Fight Night’s standout bantamweights. The defeat halted that rise abruptly.Now, fate has placed both fighters on opposite sides of the same Road to UFC bracket. If both continue winning, a rematch could await in the final, this time with a UFC contract on the line.Koren, though, is careful not to look too far ahead.“Right now my full focus is on the opponent in front of me and performing well in Road to UFC. But of course, Dhant is part of my journey because I lost my belt in that fight. After that loss, I rebuilt myself and worked harder on every part of my game.If both of us reach the final and meet again, then it would be a very important fight because this time the stakes would be even bigger with a UFC contract on the line. For now, I just want to focus one fight at a time and prove myself inside the cage,” he said.

A year ago, Koren was dealing with the fallout of a crushing defeat and another lost opportunity. Today, he stands two wins away from the UFC and a chance of validating every sacrifice that carried him this far.Chungreng Koren faces Ryuho Miyaguchi in the Road to UFC Season 5 bantamweight quarterfinal on May 28, 2026, at Galaxy Arena, Macau. The event airs on UFC Fight Pass and Sony Sports Network.