He made a historical debut on mixed martial arts’ greatest stage and now is working towards becoming a world champion.
The 31-year-old has been honoured as Richmond News 2017 Athlete of the Year — culminating our Athlete of the Month feature that is generously sponsored by Richmond realtor Keith Liedtke.
Bhullar became the first fighter of Indo-Canadian descent to sign with Ultimate Fight Championship (UFC) last spring and months later recorded a unanimous decision over Brazil’s Luis Henrique at UFC 215 on a memorable night in Edmonton.
“It was amazing. That was always the goal when I made the switch. That first walk out was going to be special and that time when you put the title around your waist is the second one that will be special,” smiled Bhullar.
“Edmonton was unique. It’s the nicest building in Canada for all sports right now. That crowd was voted the best for all events last year. It was wonderful to fight in front of them.”
Bhullar grew up as an outstanding freestyle wrestler — learning much his trade at his family’s own gym, located at their farm on Sidaway Road. His decorated career includes numerous national youth and collegiate titles. It culminated with a gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games and being a 2012 Olympian.
The transition to MMA began in the Battlefield Fight League where he eventually earned the heavyweight title in 2015. He defended the belt twice before making the jump to UFC.
He is now busy preparing to step into the octagon again, this time against Poland’s Adam Wieczorek on April 14 in Glendale Arizona. Much of his training is done between MMA clubs in Richmond and Surrey. He also makes regular trips to California.
Even with his busy schedule, Bhullar never forgets about his grassroots and his hometown.
He helps his cousin Jag run training sessions at the Bhullar Wrestling Club that is hosted at the family gym. The essentially free program has become so popular, there are now talks with the city to find more space.
“This is where it all started for me. I’m still living through those kids and you remember why you got into this,” added Bhullar.
“Life gets complicated and busy but you look at these kids and their eyes and they are dreaming. I’m still on that journey and I still have one dream left to be filled and that’s to be a world champion.”
