Military checkpoints and pandemic measures can’t stop Loma Lookboonmee from making mixed martial arts history this weekend when she becomes the first Thai combatant on UFC’s Fight Island.
Holding a professional record of 4-2 (1-1 UFC), Loma will take on 35-year-old American Jinh Yu Frey this Sunday as part of UFC on ESPN: Holm vs. Aldana. Both Loma’s senior in age and experience, Frey has been competing in mixed martial arts since 2013 and holds a professional record of 9-5 (0-1 UFC).
At 24, Loma has taken many twists and turns from her native Buriram to becoming the UFC’s first Thai competitor and reaching Fight Island in Abu Dhabi where the UFC has created a COVID-free safe space for its athletes to brawl.
“The UFC is still the UFC. The safety of their fighters is their top priority, and they are making sure that everyone gets tested while the outbreak is still at large,” she said. “There are so many great fighters who have already competed here. It’s amazing.”
Lack of asses to kick fueled Loma’s rise from Isaan to UFC octagon
Fighting amid a global pandemic has thrown up new hurdles and hardships for Loma to leap kick through. The past couple of weeks have been especially trying but she is still savouring the sweeter moments.
Loma’s bus was pulled over at a military checkpoint on the bridge leading to the island. She and her trainer, George Hickman, were told to put on hazmat suits and be sprayed down. They had to show negative COVID test results before being allowed to proceed. Upon arriving at the hotel, they were immediately tested for COVID again and put into a strict 48-hour quarantine.
For some, quarantine is time to binge-watch Netflix and catch up on old emails, but Loma has a job to do. She, alongside coach George, had to train in their hotel room, which the UFC had equipped with a stationary bike and two small mats for Loma to continue her fight prep.
Before the 48-hour quarantine was to end, Loma was required to take another COVID test. That third negative result cleared the way to enter what Hickman called the “bubble.” This rigorously tested, COVID-free zone consists of a few hotels and restaurants, an area to run and a small beach.
None of it has dampened her enthusiasm.
“I am so excited to be here,” she told Coconuts Bangkok.
Indeed, Loma has taken it all in stride with the hardest part thus far being getting acclimated to her 3am fight time. The large time difference between the United States and Abu Dhabi means she will fight early in the morning so American audiences can catch the event.
“As soon as we arrived, we had to get on a different training schedule. Loma will fight around 4am, so we have to go to sleep around 4pm every day and wake up at midnight,” Hickman said. “We then start training at around 3:45am, which is around the time she will be fighting.”
With one more COVID test to go before officially stepping into the Octagon, Loma said she feels excited and confident about the fight ahead of her.
“Everyone has hope, and I hope I can take the victory home,” she said. “But beyond winning, my goal is simple: Do my best and try my hardest. I want everyone watching to get to enjoy my fight. I will try to make it as exciting as possible.”
From rice basket to octagon
Loma’s earliest experience with Muay Thai came at 8, when she saw her father fighting at a temple in her home province of Buriram, located in the northeastern rice basket of Thailand. Up until that moment, she had spent her childhood raising buffaloes alongside her grandfather while her parents tended the rice fields, but the experience lit a fire, and she begged her father to train her.
With no equipment whatsoever, Loma began her martial arts journey in the rice fields, kicking a pillow held by her father.
Training in the dirt laid the foundation for the nine-time Muay Thai champion and former S-1 World Champion. It made her tough and determined, and she used that hunger to become a member of the national team for five years, taking home three golds, one silver and one bronze medal at the IFMA World Championships.
After more than a decade of competing in Thailand’s national sport, the Muay Thai prodigy decided to transition to mixed martial arts. That’s when I entered the story after her mother called our Muay Thai gym to say Loma wanted to fight MMA. She was immediately sponsored by Tiger Muay Thai & MMA Training Camp in Phuket and has been training there since.
Fast forward two years, and she’d already been signed on as the UFC’s first fighter from Thailand.
The impact it’s had on her life can’t be understated. For a little strawweight from a corner of Buriram, she can now support herself and her family while following her dreams and fighting for a brighter future.
Loma fights in the preliminaries that begin at 6:30am on Sunday, Bangkok time. ‘UFC on ESPN: Holm vs. Aldana’ will be shown on ESPN and can also be watched via Fox Sports Asia and UFC Fight Pass.
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Lack of asses to kick fueled Loma’s rise from Isaan to UFC octagon
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