- August 27, 2026
How ‘God’s Plan’ Took Chungreng Koren From The Fields Of Manipur To The Octagon
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Chungreng Koren once struggled to find Rs 500 for an entry fee to a competition but now, he has a UFC contract within his reach.
Chungreng Koren is close to realising his UFC dream. (Picture Credit: IG/chungreng_koren)
When Chungreng Koren talks about how he entered mixed martial arts, there is no elaborate story about chasing sporting glory. His reason was straightforward: family needed money.
“I chose it for money because I come from a poor family,” Koren tells News18 without hesitation.
The 28-year-old from Manipur is set to face Japan’s Ryo Tajima in the bantamweight semi-final of Road to UFC Season 5 in Shanghai on August 28. The fight is the latest stage of a career that began with wrestling and took him through a challenging journey before MMA became a profession.
Koren had initially hoped wrestling would take him to the Olympics. He also considered joining the Indian armed forces, but neither path worked out. MMA eventually appeared to offer a more practical route.
“In MMA, there is money. So I chose MMA for my family and to do something for my country,” he says. “In the beginning, I chose MMA for money. Later, I thought that apart from making a living, I could also do something to make my country proud.”
His family circumstances explain why earning was such an important consideration. Koren grew up in Manipur and was raised by his mother after his father died before he was even born. Farming and physical labour were among the few sources of livelihood available to the family.
His first steps in MMA were similarly modest.
Koren once did not have Rs 500 to pay the entry fee for a tournament in Manipur. Someone else lent him the money, allowing him to compete. That first fight, at the Manipur Fight League in 2018, ended in a stoppage victory.
Years later, the memory still stays with him.
“I didn’t even have Rs 500 for entry fees. And now, where have I reached? If I think about it now – this is all God’s plan. I never thought I would reach this far and represent India and fight for my country, fight for my family. I never went this far. But I want to thank everyone, they gave me so much love. God also loved me a lot. If I hadn’t come to MMA, I would have been working in the fields,” Koren said.
There was a period when he was not sure whether MMA could become a sustainable career at all. His move away from Manipur in search of better training opportunities meant taking on another set of difficulties.
After moving to Bengaluru, Koren says he did not even have enough money to return home. He was also a new father at the time and was training without any source of income.
He also flirted with the thoughts of moving back several times.
“At that time, I became a father and hadn’t even made one rupee. I was only training. We didn’t even get proper food. I only came to get proper training which I felt was enough,” Koren recalls.
His mother and wife continued working on farms in Manipur while he trained away from home.
Koren speaks particularly about the sacrifices his wife made during those years.
“Financially, her family was in a better position than us. I come from a very poor family. I mean, my wife isn’t as poor as I am,” he said.
Yet after marrying, she began working on the farm.
“She left behind all that and started working in the farms. She learned everything,” Koren says.
Once Koren left home in search of opportunities, staying in touch with his wife became another challenge.
Neither Koren nor his wife had a phone, so he had to depend on friends and brothers when he wanted to call home.
“I would use my friends’ or brothers’ phones and would call someone else’s phone back home and request them to let me talk to my wife,” he says. “It was very difficult. I feel like crying thinking about those times.”
His family remains central to how he views his career.
The transition from wrestling to MMA brought another challenge.
Wrestling gave Koren a natural advantage in takedowns and control, but it did not prepare him for all the other aspects of mixed martial arts.
“When I was switching into MMA, I had to learn a lot,” he says. “See, in wrestling, we are very cautious of punching. So I had to learn boxing, kickboxing, BJJ (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu), Muay Thai, etc. But the reality is you cannot make the switch in three-six months. If it’s for fitness, then it’s okay – in three months you can learn the basics. But to become a fighter, it takes a lot of time.”
His own game has continued to develop.
Koren says his early approach was largely built around his wrestling, with takedowns followed by ground-and-pound. He is now spending more time working on submissions and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
“In the beginning, since I have a wrestling background, I would go for a takedown and then TKO. Now I am switching again. We are working with BJJ and studying everything for submissions,” he said.
The changes have come after some difficult moments in his career.
Koren had an opportunity to enter Road to UFC previously, but contractual complications prevented him from competing. He has described spending about a week locked in his room in Gurugram and crying after the opportunity disappeared.
His next major setback came in 2025, when he lost to Rabindra Dhant.
Koren, though, blames himself for that setback.
“The fight with Ravindra Dhant – I didn’t accept that fight happily. I mean, during fights I get very excited. But this time I wasn’t. I didn’t train properly either. I didn’t do the fight camp properly. Yeah, it (defeat) happened because of my mistake.”
He says dehydration had left him in poor physical condition on the day of the fight, with both legs swollen. His coach advised him against competing.
“My mindset was clear, but my body wasn’t supporting. I was trying to tackle him but ended up falling myself,” he recalls.
Koren entered the Season 5 tournament as a late replacement after initially being named a backup and faced Japan’s previously unbeaten Ryuho Miyaguchi in the opening round.
Despite missing weight, Koren stopped Miyaguchi in the second round, dropping him with a left hand before finishing the fight with a rear-naked choke.
Koren has always preferred that kind of result.
“I don’t like unanimous decisions. I really like finishing,” he said.
His nickname, “The Indian Rhino”, was not something he chose for himself. His coach and people around him gave him the name.
Koren says the animal represents qualities that he identifies with, including humility, strength and determination.
“Indian Rhino – I didn’t pick this nickname. People gave it to me, and my coach mainly gave it to me.”
He also associates the rhino with a connection to its home.
“They are very humble and they have immense love for their motherland, never give up. Like I love India – the same way, the rhino also loves its place.”
For now, his focus is on Tajima and the semi-final. Tajima advanced from the opening round with a split-decision victory over China’s Ti Haitao.
For Koren, the fight also represents another step in a career that he once entered simply because he needed a way to earn.
He now has an opportunity to move one fight closer to realising the UFC dream.
Quick Answers
Ask News18Chungreng Koren is set to face Japan’s Ryo Tajima in the bantamweight semi-final of Road to UFC Season 5 in Shanghai on August 28.
Ask News18About the Author
Feroz Khan has been covering sports for over 12 years now and is currently working with Network18 as Principal Correspondent. He embarked on his journey in 2011 and has since acquired vast experience …Read More
August 27, 2026, 07:00 IST
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