Nepal’s bantamweight MMA star Rabindra Dhant, aka ‘Bajhang ko Baagh’, defeated New Zealand’s Kasib ‘Murder’ Murdoch by a split decision during the Road to UFC-Season 5 in Shanghai, China on Friday.

The win came as a much-needed reprieve for a country reeling under the devastating flash floods that have killed over 500 as of Friday evening and have left hundreds missing.

The win was also special because Murdoch was so far undefeated in his professional MMA career.

Every Nepali who had been following the fight for the last three months—ever since Dhant and Murdoch won their respective quarterfinal bouts in Macau, China—had wanted Dhant to respond to Murdoch’s banter regarding Nepal and its culture.

But the tiger from Bajhang kept silent until Friday, and replied to Murdoch at the place which mattered the most.

And the win was something Dhant wanted more for not only his personal growth, but for the Nepali community that has been left devastated for the last two days since a massive flood left hundreds dead and more missing.

“It has been an absolute test for us mentally since we initiated the camp,” said a video by Dhant’s camp on Friday morning. “For a month, we had news of losing a legend sometimes. Some other news follows. And just two days before the fight, we have devastating news about what’s happening back.”

Dhant’s camp had clarified it two days ago too, that their hearts go out to the country and the people back home at this time of crisis.

It was why probably millions of Nepalis at home and beyond were certain that Dhant would bring smiles to many back home at this difficult time. And he did.

It was not a fight where Dhant dominated Murdoch. It was a fight that was tough—even Nepali fans could not stop from accepting how good Murdoch was. That is specifically why Dhant’s win mattered more—because he had defeated a hell of a fighter.

“The opponent was so good,” echoed a crowd gathered at Jheer Sekuwa in Tinkune, Kathmandu. “But our fighter [Dhant] was better.”

It should have been a similar scenario across a number of venues that had shown the fight live.

As soon as the first round kicked off, Dhant and Murdoch were in the offence. But Murdoch soon got Dhant down with his skills in wrestling and grappling.

Based on the final score, Murdoch getting Dhant on the defence with grapples barely mattered.

It was not only the first round. Even the second round saw Murdoch getting Dhant back on the ground. Murdoch made some knee kicks, but it barely affected Dhant, and in turn earned points for the Kiwi.

However, the third and final round was different. Yes, Murdoch did have Dhant down with some strong grapples, but they were insufficient to hold back Dhant from landing a number of “Dhantshots”.

Dhantshots were not sufficient to knock Murdoch down. But they were enough to make the judges decide in favour of the Nepali star bantamweight.

The first judge scored 29-28 in favour of Dhant while the second went 29-28 in favour of Murdoch. But the third judge scored 29-28 for Dhant, which led the Nepali fighter to win by split decision.

In the end, there were many Nepalis who celebrated in style with the UFC, the world’s biggest MMA promotion, getting lively.

The announcers and emcees for the Road to UFC event in Shanghai did not miss speaking about Dhant before the tournament kicked off live on television screens. Just before Dhant walked towards the ring, UFC even played a small supportive message for Nepal.

“We express solidarity with Nepal at this difficult time and pray that the missing people be found safe,” the video message suggested.

Even Dhant and his camp wanted to do something for the country at this difficult period and succeeded.

“Jay Nepal. Jay Hanuman,” Dhant said after the win over Murdoch. “I want to thank my friends, family and sponsors. There is a difficult time back home, and I want to request everyone to support Nepal in every way they can.”

Translating Dhant’s message in Nepali into English, his coach/manager Diwiz Piya said, “We will address the situation when we return.”

Dhant will face Japan’s Ryo Tajima in the final of the Road to UFC-Season 5, whose date and venue are yet to be made public. Tajima defeated India’s Chungreng Koren by judges’ decision to book a final spot against Dhant and deny the MMA world a major rematch between Dhant and Koren.

As a nation emerges from the ashes and turns its gaze forward, Dhant will be determined to carry this momentum into the final and claim the championship title.