MMA CHAMPION

Kumar in the final. At London in 2012, he became the first Canadian of South Asian descent to compete at the Olympics.

“Anytime you are first at something, it’s always special. I have had many firsts in my life. It’s a life I chose. I don’t think apart from combat sport I could have anything else,” Bhullar says.

“When you are a kid you look for inspiration, hope. Sometimes you search that in other people. I found my inspiration in my dad. I guess my achievement will be an inspiration for more kids in my community here.”

After the 2012 Olympics, Bhullar quit wrestling. “I thought I had played the sport all my life. I wanted to do something different. I wanted to learn other techniques and fight in different ways. It led me to MMA. I took my time to learn the nuances and then got going.”

Bhullar took a three-year break from competition until his first MMA fight at the Battlefield Fight League in 2014. He spent time at the American Kickboxing Academy in California to improve his striking power. In 2017, he became the first fighter of Indian origin at the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He has a 3-1 win-loss record there. He joined the ONE Championship in 2019.

“I want to defend the heavyweight title now, for sure. I am also looking for opportunities in professional wrestling (WWE). The hard work is the same everywhere. It’s the technique that is different. I am 35 and still strong enough to move ahead.”