The 28-year-old will face Japan’s Ryo Tajima in the bantamweight semi-final of Road to UFC in Shanghai on August 28

Published on: Aug 20, 2026, 20:48:24 IST

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New Delhi: Chungreng Koren has spent much of his life learning not to step back. It’s a philosophy rooted in Manipur’s soil and in familial traditions. As the 28-year-old prepares to face Japan’s Ryo Tajima in the bantamweight semi-final of Road to UFC in Shanghai on August 28, he traces his mentality to the lessons he grew up with in his village and particularly to his grandfather.

“If you’re a man, you have two choices: choose your path carefully first, and once you step onto it, you can’t step back. You have to fight until your last breath,” Koren told in a conversation facilitated by official broadcasters Sony Sports. “And if you think you can’t go all the way, don’t step into it at all. That’s how they teach us in our village.”

For Koren, that philosophy is more than a fighting mantra. It has shaped a journey that began with wrestling before he switched to MMA in 2018 after getting married, initially drawn by the prospect of making a better living.

Growing up in Manipur, opportunities outside sport were limited. “There aren’t big companies, and there are no jobs to do,” he said. “We can try for the Indian Army, or Manipur Police, or two or three things like that or farming work, that’s it.”

Sport, therefore, became an avenue not only for ambition but survival, a route towards financial stability, national representation and, for many from the region, recruitment into the armed forces or police. A lot may have changed but Northeast India still produces some of the most impressive talent across sport, especially combat sport. Koren believes the toughness associated with fighters from the Land of Seven Sisters cannot be explained simply by economics.

“For us in the North East, we don’t give up. That’s the main thing,” he said. “Once we take a step, we don’t step back. And once we take a step, we try to push all the way to the end point.”

That resilience has become particularly important as Koren approaches the biggest opportunity of his career. His Road to UFC journey has hardly been straightforward. His first appearance, scheduled in 2025 was cancelled, contractual complications with Matrix Fight Night clouded his future, and a knockout defeat to Nepal’s Rabindra Dhant in his last appearance at MFN left his confidence shaken.

Koren admitted he was nowhere near ready for that fight. “I just ran, cut weight, and went,” he said of his previous Road to UFC appearance. “I suffered a brutal loss, and after that, my confidence completely fell.”

But the setback has made the present opportunity feel even more significant. “This is the most important time for me, a part of my life, my journey,” he said. “This is the last option God has given me. If I don’t move forward now, it will be very difficult. That’s why I am 100% prepared.”

His preparation has taken him from Warrior’s Cove in Gurugram to Lions MMA Club in Phuket and back. Koren first joined Warrior’s Cove around 2021, after encountering head coach Ashwin Hoon in Bengaluru and being struck by his expertise in Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ).

“I had done BJJ before, but I had never seen anyone in India like him with my own eyes,” Koren said. “I went crazy and became a fan of Ashwin Hoon when I first saw him in a camp in Bengaluru.”

The association has transformed his ground game, with Hoon eventually awarding him a purple belt. Now, as he prepares for Tajima, Koren is back at Warrior’s Cove working on his weight cut, movement and fight strategy after completing his main camp in Phuket.

There is a very specific motivation that is driving Koren. He is married with three children – Andrew, Daniel and Branice. His father is no more, while his ageing mother, who once worked on the family farm, can no longer do so. Fighting is what allows him to support his family.

“I fight and earn by myself to educate my kids and support my family,” he said. “Because in our sport, there is no government recognition and we are not given jobs or rewards on the government side, we have to do everything on our own.”

“Sometimes I feel really down thinking about home,” he said. “But I tell myself, ‘Be a man.’”

That burden, however, has not diluted his ambition. Instead, it has sharpened it. “No one from India has become a UFC champion yet, but whatever happens, my goal is only one – become a UFC champion,” Koren said. “Many better fighters will come if I don’t make it but one thing is for sure: I will fight until my last breath.”

It’s do or die for Koren. Two victories could land him a UFC contract. A loss here would set him back. He is clear that his ambition goes beyond personal achievement because he is aiming to carry Manipur and India with him into the cage.

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