Rabindra Dhant

Dhant was born in Bitthadchir Rural Municipality of Bajhang District in far-western Nepal. He completed his schooling up to Grade 10 at a local school in his village. At the age of 16, he migrated to Pithoragarh, India, in search of employment and worked there as a manual laborer. In an interview on On Air, he stated that his "back bones had come out" due to excessive manual labour, earning about $1.6 for 8 hours of work per day.^[4] He later moved to New Delhi, where he held jobs in small offices, primarily performing cleaning and tea-serving duties.^[5]

While in Delhi, Dhant began training in karate, attending sessions early in the morning before work. Encouraged by a local coach, he eventually transitioned to mixed martial arts, despite initially having limited exposure to the sport.^[6]

On 2 August 2025, Dhant competed at MFN 17 held in Greater Noida, India. He faced Chungreng Koren, an Indian fighter known as The Indian Rhino, who held a record of 7–1. Dhant entered the bout with an 8–1 record and secured a victory in the third round via knockout. With this win, he became the first Nepali athlete to claim a championship title in the MFN promotion.^[7][8][9]

Following his MFN title win, Dhant received widespread recognition from the Nepali public, media outlets, and political leaders. Despite beginning his career without institutional support, his victory has been hailed as a milestone for combat sports in Nepal. Due to his origin and aggressive fighting style, he is often referred to as Bajhang ko Bagh (The Tiger of Bajhang).^[10][11][12]

Dhant made his Road to UFC debut in Season 5 at the Galaxy Arena in Macau.^[13][14] He was originally scheduled to face Matty Iann on 28 May 2026, during Episode 1 of the tournament.^[15] However, Iann withdrew due to a knee injury and was replaced by Kimbert Alintozon.^[16] Dhant won the bout via technical knockout (TKO) in the second round, securing his advancement to semi-finals in the tournament.^[17][18] In the semifinals, Dhant faced New Zealand's Kasib Murdoch and defeated him by split decision, advancing to the tournament final.^[19][20]

• List of male mixed martial artists