Nepali MMA star Rabindra Dhant’s historic win over Kasib Murdoch at the Road to UFC-Season 5 semifinals in Shanghai, China, on Friday evening brought much-needed reprieve for a country reeling under the devastating floods that lashed central Nepal last week.

With the win, Dhant has moved one step closer to securing the UFC contract. But Dhant’s camp has a bigger goal. The UFC contract will only be the beginning of Dhant’s entry into the professional world of mixed martial arts (MMA), where the duo of Dhant and Piya want to create history for themselves, their families and Nepal.

“Long way before we rest,” Dhant’s coach/manager Diwiz Piya wrote on his Instagram after the win.

While the dream is big, Dhant and Piya are realistic too. They know that they cannot achieve it alone.

There are millions of Dhant supporters right now. He also has some sponsors. He has a professional MMA family in Bali, Indonesia—at Soma Fight Club—where he is sharpening his skills.

But Dhant needs more, Piya says. This is perhaps why Piya, less than 24 hours after the win in Shanghai, uploaded a video letter inviting Sasmit Pokharel, Nepal’s sports minister, for a meeting.

“To, The Sports Minister of Nepal,” starts a screen recording posted by Piya. “I truly believe that you and I need to sit down face to face meeting.”

Piya mentions that he was growing old, waiting for an initiative from either the minister or his office for the meeting regarding the future of sports.

“As you could see, it is the most powerful medium that unites our people. ‘Sports’,” the video and the letter continue. “You are appointed the minister of it.”

“I could use some help to take MMA in Nepal to the next level. For the people by the people,” reads the letter. “Unless you think my team isn’t worth your time. I’ll humbly wait for your call for a meeting to discuss certain points.”

It is not that the government, even the sports minister, is unaware of how Dhant’s win brought smiles to millions of Nepalis, who have been left devastated by the loss of hundreds of lives in the flash flood on August 26.

Minister Pokharel shared a video of Dhant’s win, which was uploaded via the Facebook page of the Ministry of Education and Sports. The minister used the emoji of a red heart as the caption.

Even Prime Minister Balendra Shah, who had awarded Rs200,000 to Dhant for his win at India’s Matrix Fight Night-17 last year, thanked Dhant for the win.

“Finally, I extend my heartfelt congratulations and best wishes to Nepali MMA fighter Rabindra Dhant on securing a victory in ‘Road to UFC’ and advancing to the final,” PM Shah concluded his social media message to Nepalis regarding the rescue and relief works. “On behalf of the government of Nepal, I express my sincere gratitude to him for informing the international community about the disaster situation in Nepal. His success is a matter of immense pride for all Nepali sports enthusiasts and the entire nation.”

The UFC had played a short video regarding the devastating flood and its aftermath in Nepal before Dhant walked in for his fight.

It was not an easy fight for Dhant because he was under pressure to win the match anyhow and bring smiles to Nepalis. And with a tough opponent in Murdoch, Dhant still pulled it off.

“Not only was this an historic victory, as Dhant continued his Cinderella run to the finale, but also provided a moment of peace and joy for the people at home in Nepal who are dealing with the impact of terrible flooding,” the UFC wrote about the fight against Murdoch.

Even Nepali athletes belonging to different sports backgrounds also praised Dhant for bringing smiles to many with the win.

Former national cricket team captains—Paras Khadka and Rohit Kumar Paudel—alongside the incumbent ODI captain Sandeep Lamichhane congratulated and thanked Dhant for it. Nepal’s star footballer Sabitra Bhandari ‘Samba’ and karateka Arika Gurung also said that they were proud of Dhant’s win.

Even Robert Whittaker was seen meeting Dhant after the win in Shanghai, where the Australian champ congratulated Dhant.

With the win, Dhant was relieved. He looked extremely happy when he walked out of the ring and passed through Nepali supporters who were at the venue. But the celebration was over.

“Two days after the fight night in Macau, Rabindra was back training in Bali. He hasn’t really stopped ever since,” Mike Ikilei, Soma’s owner, had said in a video interview with heavywgt MMA around a month before Friday’s fight.

Dhant defeated Kimbert Alintozon of the Philippines in the first fight in the quarterfinal of the Road to UFC-Season 5 in Macau in May. And the Nepali bantamweight star did not leave any stones unturned until Friday’s semifinal bout against Murdoch.

Dhant surely wants to repeat it when he faces Japan’s Ryo Tajima in the final, for which the date and venue are yet to be made public.

But Tajima will not be an easy opponent.

As per Tapology, an online database of MMA, Tajima has a professional record of 12-3, with his 12th win coming against India’s Chungreng Koren in the other semifinal in Shanghai. Tajima defeated China’s Haitao Ti by split decision in Macau.

Tajima fights occasionally at Pancrase, an MMA promotion in Japan. Twelve of his 15 professional bouts took place under the Pancrase banner, where his only three career losses came at the hands of fellow Japanese fighters.

It can be said that Tajima lacks experience across different international promotions, while Dhant has tested himself against a far more diverse array of styles. However, Tajima enters the final backed by Japan’s deeply entrenched MMA infrastructure—a luxury Dhant and Piya have had to build on their own.

As the team gears up for their toughest test yet, Tajima’s threat inside the cage only underscores Piya’s message outside of it: individual talent and foreign fight camps can only carry a nation’s dream so far. If Nepal truly wants its first UFC contract, the state must finally step into the corner.