NIRANJAN PHANJOUBAM: “I AM NOT A SUCCESSFUL PERSON YET”

Niranjan Singh Phanjoubam is a professional mixed martial artist from Jiribam, Manipur, with a record of four wins and one loss. He began his career at Kanglasha Martial Arts Academy in Silchar, where he was part of the first batch of fighters, and he is the GAMMA Asia-Pacific Striking MMA Champion.

At a glance

QUICK FACTS

Full name

Niranjan Singh Phanjoubam

Nickname

“The Slayer”

From

Jiribam, Manipur, India

Team

Team Kanglasha

Coaches

Kru Roshan Erom, Coach Avilash Tongbram

Pro record

4-1, with three knockout/TKO wins

Weight class

Bantamweight (61 kg) / Featherweight (65.8 kg)

Titles

GAMMA Asia-Pacific Striking MMA Champion (2022); GAMMA World Championship bronze (2023); 2× National Muay Thai Champion; 2× National Striking MMA Champion

Goal

To win a UFC belt for India

On 29 August 2026, in Canggu, Bali, Niranjan Phanjoubam put Filipino fighter Gabriel Masancay on the canvas in the second round. TKO, strikes, 1:49, at Canggu Fight Night 40. His fourth professional win, his third finish, and the first one he had earned outside India.

He does not talk about it like a man who dominated.

“First of all, I never expected Gabriel Masancay to be that strong, and kudos to him — he took so many shots but still didn’t give up in the first round. We got the win in the second round.”

What struck him about fighting abroad was not the crowd or the win bonus. It was the administration.

“I would say fighting abroad is much better because of the kind of promotion — how accurate they were with the timings, how good the promotion was with the athletes. I’ve never found that fighting in India.”

That is the closest he comes all interview to complaining about anything.

WHERE NIRANJAN PHANJOUBAM IS FROM: JIRIBAM, MANIPUR

Niranjan is from Jiribam, on the western edge of Manipur, where the state meets Assam. He is precise about the limited sporting infrastructure available there.

“Because I belong to a very remote part of Manipur — a very rural part — there is no proper infrastructure. There is a district sports complex, but it’s not actually running. The building is there, but there are no facilities. Nothing.”

For a young fighter in Jiribam, the nearest functioning gym was roughly 56 kilometres away, across a state border, in Silchar. He got there through his studies.

“I was lucky that Kanglasha was closer to me — just 50 km from my hometown. And because I was doing my graduation at G.C. College in Silchar, Kanglasha Martial Arts Academy was not far from me.”

STARTING AT KANGLASHA MARTIAL ARTS ACADEMY

Niranjan was in the academy’s first batch of fighters. His coaches were Kru Roshan Erom, who founded the academy, and Coach Avilash Tongbram. They started him in Muay Thai, which remains the base of his game.

“They motivated me and gave me an interest in Muay Thai, and that’s what I started with at first.”

He could not pay.

“I was lucky that my coaches sponsored me, and I didn’t have to pay any fees for the gym.”

The coaches carried him — waiving his fees and keeping him in training. Beyond that room, he says there was nobody.

“As for sponsors — at the start there was nothing. No sponsor, nothing. I was just training. Just training.”

At the start, not everyone at home understood it. That changed slowly, and only after the medals: national Muay Thai titles, national striking titles, the GAMMA Asia-Pacific Striking MMA championship in 2022, and a world bronze the following year.

“Once I started to prove it — winning, becoming a national champion, then an Asia-Pacific champion, then starting to win as a pro, bringing wins for the nation — I think everybody changed their opinion about me.”

He still calls Kanglasha home, and he is absolute about it.

“I would say I was Kanglasha’s first batch of fighters. I’m still part of Kanglasha and will be forever. This team means everything to me, because I feel like I’m family to Kanglasha, and Kanglasha is my own family.”

THE YEAR HE NEARLY QUIT

The part of this story that almost did not survive is 2020.

“I actually thought of stopping my career as a martial artist, but Kru Roshan Erom found me, kept me at his home, and gave me a job during COVID.”

His coach housed him, gave him a room and found him work at a moment when gyms were shut and there was no fighting to be done anywhere in the country.

“Once I was staying outside my own home, there was only training and working, so it was not an easy life. But because I love training and fighting, it was just a way of life for me.”

“The beginning of my career was very hard. I had to work a lot and earn for the family.”

Out of that period he took the one piece of advice he repeats more than any other:

“There will be a hundred reasons, a thousand reasons not to go ahead — but always try to search for that 1%, that one reason to hold on to the most important thing, the most important decision.”

FOUR DAYS’ NOTICE: THE REHAAN LULLA FIGHT

His professional debut, in July 2023, was not a debut anyone would design. He took it on four days’ notice, at a 66 kg catchweight, in the main event of WDS 5 against Rehaan Lulla.

He lost a split decision. It remains the only loss on his record.

“Back in 2023, I fought my first pro on four days’ notice, and I think we agreed to fight at 66 kg catchweight in WDS 5, if I’m not wrong, in the main event.”

What he took from it was not a complaint about the circumstances. It was a diagnosis.

“Right after the fight, I realised that I needed to work a lot on my ground game — my wrestling, my BJJ, my MMA grappling. I gave myself some time to reevaluate and rethink, and that’s what happened.”

Then he disappeared for twenty-one months. No fights, no highlight reels, no announcements — at an age and stage where most regional fighters take everything they are offered to stay visible.

“I think those one and a half to two years of not fighting helped me rebuild my game and transition myself into a proper MMA fighter.”

He came back in May 2025 and won a decision over Rana Rajkumar at WDS 12. Two months later he finished Karan Nitin Chauhan in sixteen seconds at Ronin FC. In December he stopped Russia’s Murad Kurbanov with elbows and punches in the first round at APFC India 1. Then came Bali: four fights, four wins, three finishes, after twenty-one months away.

ONE GOAL: A UFC BELT FOR INDIA

Asked what he is working towards, Niranjan’s answer was unusually specific for a fighter four wins into a professional career.

“If you ask me, I have only one goal: to get a belt in India from the UFC. There’s a single goal that I have, and I think the same goal has been for my manager too. We both want the belt to bring home to India. That’s the only goal I have, and I’m leaning towards my goal only and not diverting my mind to other organisations.”

As of September 2026, no Indian fighter has held a UFC title. Puja Tomar became the first Indian fighter to win a UFC bout in 2024; Arjan Bhullar’s world championship came in ONE Championship, not the UFC. The belt Niranjan is describing does not exist in India yet.

He says he has turned down offers from other promotions to keep the path clean. He will not say which, and he will not be drawn on it.

Which brings us back to the sentence he says about himself.

“I would say that I am not a successful person yet, because I still have to reach my ultimate goal. I’m still working towards it.”

A continental champion, a world bronze medallist, unbeaten in over two years, and he will not accept the word.

WHAT SEPARATES THE FIGHTERS WHO MAKE IT

Ask him what separates the fighters who make it from the ones who quit and he gets impatient with the question’s premise.

“The separation between the ones who make it and the ones who quit is not a simple road. It takes a lot of effort, a lot of hard work, a lot of time. I just kept holding on — like I said, to that 1%, to that one reason.”

Ask him what nobody talks about and he declines, cleanly and without drama.

“There are so many challenges that I faced which even the mainstream media doesn’t know, because I’ve never expressed them. I think everybody has their own battle in life, and this was supposed to be mine. I think it’s better not to explain it to anyone.”

He will only say this much about the life itself: from the outside it does not look bad, and then you live it.

“It doesn’t seem to be bad, but once you walk through it, it turns out pretty horrible. That’s the way of life.”

HIS ADVICE TO A YOUNG FIGHTER WITH NOBODY BEHIND HIM

For the young fighter in Jiribam or Silchar with an empty sports complex down the road and nobody in his corner:

“First of all, don’t expect support from anyone, because nobody is going to support you. You will have to be there for yourself. To help yourself, to motivate yourself, to believe in yourself.

Never ever let someone’s opinion enter your mind, and do what you have decided to do. There will be reasons to fail, but just keep trying until you go through it, until you make it.”

It sounds harsh until you remember where he is speaking from. He is not telling that young fighter the world is cruel. He is saying that waiting for someone to arrive is what ends careers — and that the people who do show up, like the coach who gave him a bed, tend to arrive after you have already started, not before.

“Keep working hard, keep trusting the process, trust your coaches, and believe in yourself.”

He is 4-1. He would like you to know that means nothing yet.

About the fighter

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Who is Niranjan Phanjoubam?

Niranjan Singh Phanjoubam, known as “The Slayer,” is a professional mixed martial artist from Jiribam, Manipur, India. He has a professional record of 4-1 and is the GAMMA Asia-Pacific Striking MMA Champion (2022). He began his martial arts career at Kanglasha Martial Arts Academy in Silchar.

What gym does Niranjan Phanjoubam train at?

He started at Kanglasha Martial Arts Academy in Silchar, Assam, as part of its first batch of fighters, under Kru Roshan Erom and Coach Avilash Tongbram. He remains part of Team Kanglasha.

What is Niranjan Phanjoubam’s MMA record?

Four wins and one loss. His wins came against Gabriel Masancay (TKO, 2026), Murad Kurbanov (TKO, 2025), Karan Nitin Chauhan (TKO, 2025) and Rana Rajkumar (decision, 2025). His only loss was a split decision to Rehaan Lulla at WDS 5 in July 2023, a fight he took on four days’ notice at a 66 kg catchweight.

Where is Niranjan Phanjoubam from?

Jiribam, a remote district on the western edge of Manipur, roughly 56 kilometres from Silchar, Assam.

Has any Indian fighter won a UFC title?

No. As of September 2026, no Indian fighter has held a UFC championship. Puja Tomar became the first Indian fighter to win a UFC bout in 2024. Arjan Bhullar’s world title was won in ONE Championship, not the UFC. Winning a UFC belt for India is Niranjan Phanjoubam’s stated goal.

What is Kanglasha Martial Arts Academy?

Kanglasha Martial Arts Academy is a martial arts academy in Silchar, Assam, with branches on Vivekananda Road and in Lakhipur. It trains beginners and competitive athletes across multiple disciplines and has produced fighters including Niranjan Phanjoubam.