Shi Ming wasted little time making a statement in front of her home fans on Friday night.
The strawweight tournament winner capped off the second day of Road to UFC Season 5 with a dominant first-round submission victory over India’s Puja Tomar in the special main event at Galaxy Arena in Macau on Friday.
Ming immediately neutralized Tomar’s striking threat by closing the distance and forcing the fight into her world. After securing a takedown, “Dr. Sleep” quickly established top control and methodically worked towards a finish.
Shi Ming patiently set up an arm-triangle choke, advancing to side control before tightening the hold and forcing “The Cyclone” to tap at the 3:12 mark of the opening round.
A winner of the Road to UFC Season 3, Ming earned her UFC contract with a highlight reel head-kick knockout of Feng Xiaocan in November 2024. After seeing her five-fight winning streak snapped by Bruna Brasil via unanimous decision last August, the doctor-turned-fighter earned her first UFC victory on Chinese soil.
The victory improves Shi Ming’s professional record to 18-6 and gives her the seventh submission win of her career. She now stands 1-1 inside the Octagon.
For Tomar, the loss continues a difficult stretch in the promotion. “The Cyclone” has now suffered back-to-back submission defeats following her loss to Shauna Bannon and falls to 1-2 in the UFC. The Indian strawweight’s professional record now stands at 9-6.