Arjan Bhullar usually celebrates Vaisakhi by attending parades, eating great food and doing a bit of charitable work in the Vancouver area. This year, however, he’ll commemorate the annual Sikh festival by stepping barefoot into a cage in Arizona and getting into a fight.
The Richmond, B.C., native takes on Poland’s Adam Wieczorek at Saturday’s UFC Fight Night event with the aim to remain undefeated in professional mixed martial arts, while also showing the world who he is as an athlete and person.
Saturday’s card in Glendale wasn’t initially the one Bhullar wanted to be on. The 31-year-old had hoped to be slotted on a March 17 show in London, England. One reason being Bhullar was the first person of Indian decent signed by the UFC and there is a large Indian population in the London area. Another was his fond connection to the city after representing Canada in wrestling at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
“We were trying to get on the London card in March. We were trying and trying,” Bhullar told Sportsnet.
Bhullar and his management team pleaded their case to UFC brass but the organization countered with a proposal to fight on April 14, Vaisakhi of all days.
“I’m like, ‘Are you kidding me? That’s even better,’” said Bhullar, the first Sikh athlete in UFC history. “It’s one of those things in life where opportunities open up, doors open and you just walk through and make the most of every opportunity. That’s kind of what this is. It’s funny how sometimes how that works in life.”
You’ll often hear Bhullar speaking about his heritage and the pride he feels representing his community. That wasn’t always the case, though.
“Maybe when I was younger, because you are different, you look different, you talk different, you eat different foods, you are maybe a little more shy to speak of your heritage and your culture, or have that ability to have that voice as a young teenager or youth,” Bhullar explained. “There was that aspect because everyone wants to fit in at that age, but as I’ve grown up I’ve learned to embrace that voice and being different.
“When I go talk to kids that’s what I tell them all the time because I remember being in their shoes. It’s great being different. That’s embraced anytime you can stand out. And champions are different, so why wouldn’t you want to stand out?”
Bhullar stood out as a newcomer to keep an eye on in his promotional debut at UFC 215 in Edmonton this past summer, earning a unanimous decision victory over Brazilian Luis Henrique to improve to 7-0 in MMA.
In addition to the world-class wrestling ability he honed while growing up on the mats at his family’s Bhullar Wrestling Club in B.C., Bhullar boasts an effective jab, loads of power stored in his right hand, he presses forward intelligently and aggressively, never forgetting the importance of head movement, plus he has the strength to lift a 245-pound athlete like Henrique clean over his head with ease.
Bhullar might not have gotten a stoppage victory in his debut, but the impressive performance proved his ceiling in the heavyweight division is rather high.
That win opened up a few doors for Bhullar that might not have been opened otherwise, as there are definitely some fun perks to being an undefeated UFC fighter. Bhullar recently got to hang out with the Phoenix Suns thanks to a hook-up from Jay Triano — the Suns’ current interim head coach used to coach at Simon Fraser University, Bhullar’s alma mater.
“The Suns was cool, man,” Bhullar said. “That was a first, to be on an NBA court for a private shootaround with your own jersey and stuff. That was pretty cool, especially because growing up [former Suns and B.C. sports legend] Steve Nash was my guy.”
He was also invited to the Vancouver Canucks’ first South Asian night.
“Everything is unique to me. I don’t take anything for granted,” he said. “Even being here [in Arizona] this week. I’m very grateful to be healthy, having the coaches I have, being in the position I’m in. There’s never one thing I hang on to. I think you have to be grateful on a daily basis because nothing’s guaranteed. Nothing’s forever.”
Bhullar saying “nothing’s forever” is somewhat ironic, though, because his biggest accomplishment since his first UFC win was becoming a father for the first time. Ajuni Kaur Bhullar was born Feb. 27 and the name Ajuni means forever, or infinite, not bound by birth or death.
When Ajuni was welcomed into the world it changed the way the former Battlefield Fight League champion viewed his fighting career.
“It gives you more purpose,” Bhullar said. “Before, it was for me, for the community, for people I don’t know, but now there’s someone relying on my success and looking up to me and you just want to be better in every way as a person. It’s a little different. I’ve got a little princess. … What I’m doing will serve her as she’s growing and for her to chase her dreams and that’s how I choose to look at this and it’s been fun and I want to take it all in. Being a father is part of life and greater than this sport and competing.”
Something else that reaches beyond merely sport and competition is the history Bhullar will be making when he makes his walk out to the cage at Gila River Arena.
Bhullar was not given clearance wear to his turban to the Octagon for his debut after there was some confusion and it was deemed to be a violation of the UFC-Reebok Athlete Outfitting Policy.
Holding no grudges about the oversight, Bhullar said “the UFC was excited to be on board” with him wearing his turban going forward and the issue was sorted out quickly after the fact.
“It’s going to be pride. It’s going to be a watershed moment. It means even a little more because we weren’t allowed to make that walk the first time through,” the 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medallist said. “For me, it’s more being grateful for being able to do that for everybody else. That’s what it means. To be like, ‘Hey, I can go out here and do my thing anyhow but I’m down for the cause and this is what I’m able to do for us.’”
Bhullar has been friends with WWE star and fellow Sikh, Jinder Mahal, dating back to their amateur wrestling days in Western Canada. Mahal was actually supposed to accompany Bhullar to the cage ahead of his UFC debut but was stranded in Florida at the time because of Hurricane Irma and never made it to the event.
Mahal is one of Bhullar’s biggest supporters and praised his pal for breaking ground in the UFC.
“I’m glad Arjan raised the awareness, and the UFC understands the importance and the significance of [the turban] to him personally,” Mahal recently told MMAJunkie.
WWE Superstar @JinderMahal stands behind his long-time friend @TheOneASB who competes against Adam Wieczorek on Vaisakhi at #UFCGlendale.#OneBillionStrong pic.twitter.com/kfAVeFCoqe
— UFC India (@UFCIndia) February 2, 2018
Another high-profile friend of Bhullar’s is UFC light-heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier. Bhullar looked up to Cormier throughout his wrestling career and was motivated by Cormier’s successful transition to MMA. The two have trained together in the past at the American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, Calif., although he didn’t head down to AKA to train with Cormier this time around. Instead, he elected to do his full camp at home in B.C., where Canadian heavyweight Jared Kilkenny was among Bhullar’s main training partners — Kilkenny stands six-foot-five just like Wieczorek.
Cormier will, however, be part of the commentary team at Saturday’s event, just like he was at UFC 215.
“That’s awesome that he’s working the desk,” Bhullar said. “I look forward to that. It was really cool to have him in for my debut fight, just to have that comfort level and to be able to show off your skills and your goods in front of the team captain. It means something so I’m excited.”
A number of highly touted Canadian fighters have struggled in recent UFC outings. Misha Cirkunov has lost two straight after cracking the top 10 at 205 pounds, plus featherweights Jeremy Kennedy and Hakeem Dawodu were each handed their first pro loss. Those three fighters still have bright futures but Bhullar is currently the only Canadian on the UFC roster with an unblemished record — not to mention the skill, work ethic, engaging personality and overseas appeal to become a truly global star.
“First and foremost you need the goods. You need to win. I’m a big believer in that,” Bhullar said when addressing his budding star potential. “That aside, all the other stuff definitely plays a big part in it. Being able to represent Canada, being able to represent India. Those are all unique aspects which I think the company will get excited about and the fans will get excited about, which excites me. To have that platform, to have that following you’re able to have an impact — in anything, not just in sports.”
And what about trash talking your way to the top like so many fighters these days try to do?
“I’m not about trash talking,” Bhullar added. “Unless a guy lips me off — I’ll give it as good as I take it no problem — but I’m not going to force anything.
“I’m just going to be me and that’s what I’ve always done.”
[relatedlinks]
