Rabindra DhantNepal's first Road to UFC finalist — one win from a UFC contract

Rabindra Dhant is a Nepali bantamweight from Bitthadchir in Bajhang, in the far west of the country, fighting out of Kathmandu with Lock N Roll MMA and Soma Fight Club in Bali. He is known at home as "Bajhang ko Bagh", the Tiger of Bajhang. His professional record is 11-1 with eight knockouts, one submission and two decision wins; his only loss is a unanimous decision to Ismail Khan at ONE Friday Fights 45 in Bangkok in December 2023.

He went to school in his village to grade 10, left for Pithoragarh in India at 16 to work as a labourer, and later moved to New Delhi, where he worked cleaning and tea-serving jobs and started karate before a local coach pushed him towards mixed martial arts. His first professional fight was in New Delhi in May 2019. He fought his way through regional shows in India, two Nepal Warriors cards in Kathmandu and two ONE Friday Fights in Bangkok before Brave CF and Matrix Fight Night put him in front of bigger crowds.

On 2 August 2025 he knocked out Chungreng Koren in the third round at Matrix Fight Night 17 in Greater Noida to win the MFN bantamweight title — the first Nepali to win a belt in a professional MMA promotion. In May 2026 he became the first Nepali to win a Road to UFC bout, stopping Kimbert Alintozon with punches in the second round of their quarterfinal in Macau, and on 28 August 2026 he beat the previously unbeaten New Zealander Kasib Murdoch by split decision in the Shanghai semifinal to become the first Nepali in a Road to UFC final. The final, against Japan's Ryo Tajima, decides a multi-fight UFC contract.

Since 1 October 2026 he is the brand ambassador for Bajaj's Pulsar NS motorcycles in Nepal, announced by Hansraj Hulaschand & Co. under the line "Raw Power Meets Raw Power".