Unbeaten Bhullar on verge of UFC breakthrough
In his life as an amateur wrestler and professional fighter, Arjen Bhullar has seen a lot worse than Conor McGregor throwing a dolly through the window of a bus.
That doesn’t mean the B.C.based heavyweight liked it, though.
Bhullar was deep into his training for Saturday night’s fight against Adam Wieczorek at UFC Fight Night: Glendale when images of McGregor’s attack on a bus full of fighters started making the rounds.
Three fights ended up being cancelled as the result of McGregor’s antics and the Irishman is facing charges. He’s due back in court in June.
It wasn’t a good look for the UFC or mixed martial arts in general, Bhullar believes.
“I don’t think anyone appreciated him forcing people to pull out of their fights, and people were hurt, so it’s not a good look,” Bhullar said. “But that’s up to him.
“There are people out there who think any news is good news. Maybe he thinks that way. He hasn’t been fighting, he hasn’t been in the Octagon for a while, so now people are talking about him. Maybe that was the goal.”
Bhullar’s approach to the fight game couldn’t be more different from how McGregor markets himself.
The Richmond, B.C. native is the first fighter of Indian descent to fight in the UFC and will proudly become the first athlete wearing a turban to enter the Octagon on Saturday night.
He’s a proud Sikh who wants to be a role model for the people in his community.
That means we’re not going to see him throwing anything through a bus window anytime soon. If he’s going to be a superstar one day, he’s going to do it the old-fashioned way — by winning fights.
Considering how prominent Bhullar’s been on the UFC’s official social media accounts in India, stringing together a couple of victories could get the world’s second most populous country behind him.
With a 7-0 professional record and a unanimous decision win over Luis Henrique in his UFC debut, Bhullar’s journey has just begun. His Olympic wrestling pedigree suggests he’s got the tools to make a run towards the top of the heavyweight division, but things can change quickly in a weight class where every fighter has knockout power.
It’s also not a particularly deep division, though, so a win against Wieczorek might actually be enough to earn Bhullar a fight against someone a little more wellknown next time around.
IT’S TIME
Because last week’s build-up to UFC 223 was such an unbelievable mess, the fact that it’s been smooth-sailing for the UFC this week in Glendale, Az. has almost made Saturday night’s card feel like it’s going under the radar. That shouldn’t be the case. Any card that features a main event between Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje should attract the attention of fight fans, but the promotion’s matchmakers deserve credit for putting together what might be the most fun main card of the year.
The co-main event will see Carlos Condit fight Alex Oliveira, and it’s entirely possible that this will be the last time we see Condit compete professionally. He’s an alltime-great brawler, and deserves some appreciation for all the battles he’s put on over the years.
AROUND THE OCTAGON
The UFC has rebooked Gokhan Saki and Khalil Rountree, who were scheduled to fight in December at UFC 219 but had their fight cancelled. They’ll go head-to-head at UFC 226 on July 7 in Las Vegas, and that card is slowly shaping up nicely … The July card also got a bantamweight bout between Raphael Assuncao and Rob Font added this week and will feature a superfight between heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic and lightheavyweight king Daniel Cormier. That’s a nice roster, so far … .