SUMMARY
- Loma Lookboonmee is a fighter, she has participated in various combat sports.
- She made her debut in UFC while holding a previous record of 5-2.
Loma Lookboonmee is the first Thai fighter to ever be signed with the promotion. Many people including the media and the MMA community were curious about Loma and how she surpassed all odds to make her aspirations come to life. The 28-year-old has competed in different forms of combat sports during her career including Muay Thai, boxing, kickboxing, and mixed martial arts.
She made her debut with the UFC in 2019 with a current record of 5-2. Along with Muay Thai, boxing, and kickboxing, she also holds a Purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Loma started her mixed martial arts training at the Tiger Muay Thai gym but also trains at the Bangtao Muay Thai & MMA under head coach George Hickman. Both the training centers are located in her native country Thailand.
Loma Lookboonmee’s childhood and background
Loma began her training at the early age of 7 in her Father Boonmee Suphisara’s gym. It was a humble setting with no ring, no roof, not even a bag. This didn’t hold back the UFC fighter who trained in the dirt and put all her strength and ambitions into being the best. In the beginning, she would be competing against girls but soon transitioned to going against the boys due to a lack of competition available.
She traveled through rough trails of temple fairs and festival fights looking for matchups. Now training at the Tiger Muay Thai gym which is known to be one of the biggest and most well-equipped MMA gyms in the world. The training center has been home to UFC legends such as Mark Hunt and Valentina Shevchenko. This has facilitated Loma’s growth over the years making the best out of the opportunity.
Her other gym Bangtao Muay Thai & MMA also offers her high-end talented training partners including the likes of UFC Featherweight Champion Alexander Volkanovski, Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jiří Procházka, and current UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Zhang Weili.
Along with the UFC, she was also the first ever Thai National to fight for the Invicta Fighting Championships. At just the age of 12, she was scheduled to fight local superstar Petchdam Petchkiatpetch, who in his adulthood became a Channel 7 Stadium champion.
Although going in as a heavy underdog, her family believed in the UFC fighter who emerged victorious in the bout garnering huge attention. She has won the prestigious S-1 Championship from OneSongchai. In addition to the six other regional titles, she won during her journey to the ultimate platform for combat sports.
The humble journey of Loma Lookboonmee from poverty to the UFC
Lookboonmee’s journey holds a lot of depth behind the now glitz and glamour. Belonging to the natives of Isaan which is considered the poorest and most underdeveloped region in the country. The UFC fighter’s life is nothing short of an on-screen miracle.
She started off fighting in Professional Muay Thai in 2012 but faced a loss in her debut against Erika Kamimura. This didn’t discourage the Thai martial artist who went on to win 8 of her next 10 fights. She also won the International Federation of Muaythai Associations championship three times in her career. Later Loma decided to transition into mixed martial arts in 2017.
She fought in promotions such as Invicta FC and Full Metal Dojo before making it to the UFC. The mixed martial artist made her debut at the UFC Fight Night 162. She faced Aleksandra Albu on her strawweight debut in Singapore winning via split decision. During her entire career, she competed in the atomweight division but had to move up as strawweight was the lowest weight division in the UFC.
She lost her next bout against Angela Hill via unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 168. But as seen in her career she picked herself and won 4 out of her next 5 bouts. Currently holding a professional mixed martial arts record of 8 wins and 3 losses. Lookboonmee is next scheduled to face Bruna Brasil on February 10 2024 at UFC Fight Night 236.
Loma Lookboonmee aspires to be a role model for young mixed martial artists
The 28-year-old credits much of her success to her training partners, coaches, and her team. She has been an influence on her community and nation and highly impacted the perspective of mixed martial arts among young fighters. The UFC fighter is often seen giving back to her community through events and charities. She wishes to inspire more young talent to come up and represent their country.
The mixed martial artist states that the Thai people have been incredibly supportive of her journey, which she receives through tons of messages. What holds more true to her is being able to be a role model and mentor to the young fighters who often reach out to her. At just 28 years of age, the Thai mixed martial artist is yet to see the peak and prime of her growth currently holding a two-fight win streak.
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The first:🔘 Thailand-born UFC athlete to sign
🔘 Thailand-born UFC athlete to make the walk
🔘 Thailand-born UFC athlete to win in the Octagon!Loma Lookboonmee #UFCSingapore pic.twitter.com/KpMa6KOjA0
— UFC (@ufc) October 26, 2019
She steps into the octagon once again with the whole country by her side and hopes to keep her winning streak alive. This has also benefited the UFC in reaching not only a booming business across the globe but also in trusting upcoming lesser-known talents. To keep the promotion at the front line of global combat sports maintain its elite roster and cater to the mixed martial arts fans.
Loma believes in her talent but doesn’t let it turn into overconfidence as she is well aware of the talent-rich division she is a part of. With a dominant champion Zhang Weili who also shares the same journey of breaking down walls and making her mark as the First ever Chinese champion in UFC history. The MMA community would be highly excited to see if the two icons would share the octagon in the future.