27-year-old Rabindra Dhant will take to Macau’s Galaxy Arena on May 28 to do something no Nepalese fighter has done to date: compete in a Road to UFC tournament, two wins away from a UFC contract.After trying for a few years, Dhant got his big break with the Road to UFC – a win-and-advance tournament that gives top MMA prospects from across the Asia-Pacific a direct path to the UFC, and will face Philippines’ Kimbert Alantozon in the quarterfinals.Ask him how he felt about being selected for Road to UFC Season 5, and he won’t give you the answer you’d expect.Speaking to TimesofIndia.com, he says through his coach and translator Davies Piya Lama, “Indifferent. “This isn’t the first year we’ve tried. As a team, we’ve probably been pushing for it for the second or third year. 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 working in the gym. It’s a job. Just a job he’s got to keep doing.”It’s a calm and measured response, even though he stands on the cusp of history. No Nepali has ever signed a UFC contract. No Nepali fighter has ever competed at this level of the sport’s global infrastructure. Dhant, by any measure, is unprecedented territory for his country, yet when asked about the pressure, his answer remains unchanged.“The questions are stressing him more than the fight,” Lama said with a laugh. “He feels no pressure from the fight itself.”Forming Nepal’s Top MMA ProspectsDhant’s journey to the UFC’s doorstep speaks volumes about his mindset ahead of the biggest night of his career.Hailing from Bajhang, a village in far western Nepal, where no one is seen for the sport, Dhant undertook a difficult and long journey that took him to India at an early age, manual labor, and clerical work serving tea and cleaning. MMA was never in the picture, but at odd times karate training carried him quietly without family support or institutional structure.However, the results were anything but quiet.He went undefeated for 15 fights in the Indian regional amateur circuits. He won the Indian National Amateur MMA Championship back-to-back in 2019 and 2020, a feat that should have qualified him for the World Amateur Championship.However, Nepal’s MMA infrastructure at that time was not equipped to send a fighter to international amateur competition. He had qualified, but he just couldn’t go.“It was a salty phase,” he says through his coach and translator Lama. “He had hit the ground running, won two tournaments back-to-back, and had no luck at the international level.”Then came a lucrative offer. Recognizing his potential, he was given a way out: to acquire Indian citizenship, compete internationally, and build his career on a more resourceful platform. He turned her down. He decided to keep his Nepalese passport.“Thank God he didn’t,” says Lama with a chuckle from his side. “Right now, where things stand, people would burn us alive.”Davies Piya Lama: The coach who backed him up.The Lama, who has been the voice of Dhanta during this conversation, has also been his guiding light. A jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai practitioner based in Kathmandu, Lama saw Dhant’s fight and decided to personally invest in it. Lama sponsored a training camp at the Fairtex Gym in Thailand, paying the expenses out of his own pocket. It proved to be worth his while.In September 2023, Dhant made his ONE Championship debut in Bangkok, defeating Russia’s Turipchi Dongak by TKO in the third round. He became the first Nepali fighter to win a bout in the ONE Championship. Then in August 2025, at Matrix Fight Night 17 in Greater Noida, he stopped undefeated Indian bantamweight champion Chungrang Korin in the third round to become the first Nepali to win a major international MMA title.“The win was more important than anything,” he says when asked about the meeting with the mayor of Kathmandu, the cash prize and the recognition.“If he had lost, there would have been no president, no mayor, no minister. At the end of the day, it’s a win and the job at hand. These side questions really don’t mean anything.”His main opponent, Matty Ian of Australia, was injured before the bout and withdrew. Filipino fighter Alantozon, a 7-3 bantamweight who stepped up on short notice with six finishes on his record. The production of Dhant, he says, did not require a dramatic change.“He didn’t train specifically for Matty in such a way that the whole system needed to be changed. He did his due diligence and kept doing what he was doing. Not a drastic change.”Despite the accolades, Dhanta has a foundation, and as they say, it’s a job. A win takes Dhant on the road to the UFC semifinals. Two wins earn UFC contract: Nepal’s first in history. So what does a win in Macau mean for him on May 28?“Stepping towards his destination.”Watch Road to UFC (Day 1) – Round of 16 – Day 1 (Rong Zhou vs Martinez) live and exclusive on Sony Sports Ten 1 SD & HD on 28 May 2026 at 3:30 PM IST.
