So, the other day, I was just chilling, flicking through some fight highlights, you know how it is. And a random thought popped into my head – how many Indian fighters are actually making waves in the UFC? I mean, India’s a huge country, tons of people, surely there’s a solid contingent, right?
My Little Search Mission
Curiosity got the better of me. I fired up my laptop, opened up a search engine, and typed in something like “Indian MMA fighters in UFC.” Pretty straightforward, I thought. I was expecting a whole list to pop up, maybe some articles, fighter profiles, the usual stuff.
Well, it wasn’t quite the avalanche of names I’d pictured. It took a bit more digging than just a quick glance. I started clicking through a few links, piecing things together. It’s not like they’re front and center on every UFC promo, at least not from what I was seeing.
What I Found (or Didn’t Find So Much Of)
It turns out, the list of fighters born and brought up in India who’ve competed in the UFC is, well, pretty short. Shorter than I guessed, for sure. I came across a few names during my little online expedition:
- Anshul Jubli came up. He’s a more recent name, I think he came through “Road to UFC.” That was interesting to read about.
- Then there was Bharat Kandare, who I read was one of the first, if not the first, from India to fight in the UFC.
- I also saw mentions of fighters of Indian origin, like Arjan Bhullar, but he represents Canada, so that’s a bit different from what I was initially looking for, though still cool to see.
So yeah, not a massive roster. It really got me thinking. For a country with over a billion people, it makes you wonder why the representation isn’t bigger in this particular sport at the top level.
Made Me Think, You Know…
This whole thing reminded me of when I was younger. Not about fighting, mind you. I wouldn’t last two seconds. But I got super into competitive cycling for a while. I mean, I really went for it. Bought a decent bike with money I’d saved up, trained like a maniac every morning before school, read all the magazines, the whole nine yards. I thought I was pretty good, you know? I was winning local club races, feeling like the next big thing.
Then I went to a regional championship. Man, that was an eye-opener. These guys, they weren’t just fast, they were on a completely different planet. It was like they were built different. And the resources they had! Proper coaches, nutrition plans, support teams. My little setup with my dad handing me a water bottle suddenly felt very amateur. I realized the gap between being good locally and making it to even a national level, let alone international, was just… immense. It wasn’t just about talent; it was about infrastructure, money, exposure, and a whole lot of luck.
I gave it up after a year or so. Wasn’t bitter, just realistic. But it taught me a lot about what it takes to get to the elite level in any sport. It’s a brutal pyramid. Thousands at the bottom, a tiny handful at the top.
So, when I see a relatively small number of fighters from a massive country like India in the UFC, I don’t just think “Oh, there aren’t many.” I think about all those unseen hurdles. The journey for someone like Anshul Jubli must have been incredibly tough, way tougher than just showing up and fighting. It’s about getting the right training, the right opportunities, getting noticed in a global sport where everyone is clawing for a spot.
Anyway, that was my little rabbit hole for the afternoon. Just goes to show, you start with a simple question, and you end up pondering all sorts of things. It’s a tough world out there, especially in professional sports.