Arjan Bhullar hasn't been fighting in the UFC long. Infact, he's only had one fight.
Bhullar, 31, marked his UFC debut with a unanimous decision victory over Luis Henrique in Sept. 2017 which elevated his professional MMA record to an undefeated 7-0. He may be relatively new to the circuit but he's also a genuine threat in the heavyweight division.
The former wrestler, who represented Canada at the Olympic Games in 2012, is beginning to cause shockwaves in the sport both in and outside the octagon. Not only is he the promotion's first athlete of Indian origin but also their first fighter of Sikh faith.
ESPN spoke with the 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medalist about his journey so far. His next fight? Potentially in the UK.
On targeting the UFC card in London for March 2018...
"My management have reached out to the UFC and made it clear that's the one we want. It makes so much sense. There's so much support for someone out there like myself and me specifically, I've been out there before when I competed in the Olympics out there. I walked out there with my turban before the Olympics, I'd love to do that for my fight. Everything lines up perfectly and I think that would be great for my next fight. It's not finalised just yet but we're hoping we'd be able to get that done ASAP."
On Indian support if he did fight in London...
"That's what my management have let the UFC know: 'Look, Indian's have huge support in certain parts of the world and the UK leads the way'. We have a long history in the country there. Having one of their own fighters out there, you would see tremendous support. It would feel like home advantage out there for sure."
On MMA and UFC interest in India...
"Everything is big in India. When you've got a billion people, the sky's the limit. The sport's easy to understand. There are regional leagues that have been operating now for a while. The Super Fight League, which the owners are UK based with Amir Khan a private investor within that. They have some great ground support out there. We're excited to partner with the UFC Asia office in taking that to a higher level and eventually take the UFC to an event on the ground out there. As soon as that happens, this sport's going to blow up."
On not being allowed to wear his turban on his UFC debut...
"That was disappointing and upsetting and frustrating. The whole range of emotions because I didn't foresee that happening. But since then we've been able to engage Reebok and the UFC. They just need some educating and getting them on the same page but I think we've done that. We need to reach out and get it cleared with right people but we should be fine for the next fight. Myself and my management have seen this as a positive moving forward."
On his strengths in the sport...
"You know what, I sat down when I first got together with my coaches and said. I don't want to be one of those guys who just have to wrestle someone down'. I want my striking to be on par with anyone in the world. I've got two options to victory, wrestling is always going to be my strongest point but like I say, I just have some fun punching guys. But I should probably mix in my wrestling more moving forward. That is a goal but striking is just so much fun.
On Daniel Cormier being his idol...
"He's the guy I looked up to in wrestling. He's older than me, he was on the Olympic team and I just loved watching him compete and studying his techniques. He's definitely one of my idols. When you walk in the room at AKA [American Kickboxing Academy] you've got a line-up of guys you can look at. I plan on copying a lot of [Cormier's] stuff."