India’s next big star in mixed martial arts could be around the corner with the third season of the Road to UFC coming up. Coming from the hills of Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand, the 28-year-old Angad Bisht could make it to the big stage as he gears up to take on some of Asia’s best. With a record of 9 wins and 3 losses under his belt, Angad’s introduction to MMA was just not so simple. Around 2014, a young Angad sought the means to get stronger.
He is set to compete in the flyweight bout against John Almanza from the Philippines
In an exclusive interaction with News18 Sports, Angad Bisht talked about how he got into MMA and his intention to bring out the untapped potential and make it to the big leagues ahead of his fight at the Road to UFC.
Changing Paths from Medicine to MMA
Angad had started off pursuing medicine with the support of his family. He felt that this was not his calling and decided to pursue something that had a physical challenge. He got into MMA in Delhi and used to do part-time work at the gym where he worked in the day and focused on his training in the evenings. “I felt that sport had the adrenalin rush, endurance and also required mental forte, wits like playing chess,” he revealed what got him hooked.
He was looking for a means to train himself physically and functionally which led him to MMA. After just six months of training, he got into amateur fights won titles in different promotions and now has the chance to make it into the big leagues.
The Road to UFC, Aspirations and Fighting Style
His goals for the Road to UFC are clear. He revealed,” I just want to put up some performances. I feel there is a lot of untapped potential that is yet to come out. There is also the goal of making it into the UFC and this is the platform for that”. He also aspires to hold the title and possibly become the first Indian champion within the organisation but also remains aware of his current skill levels and admits that he isn’t there now. But believes that he can get to the championship-level calibre within a year.
As for his style of fighting, Angad has the experience of fighting guys bigger than him which has allowed him to hone his grappling skills. However, he also remains confident in his feet and striking abilities and hopes that his size will work to his advantage after coming down from featherweight to flyweight.
Following Anshul Jubli’s Footsteps
Angad now could make the nation proud and follow the footsteps of Anshul Jubli who also made his way to the main stage via the Road to UFC. Coincidentally the two have known each other for some time and come from the same state. “Anshul is like a brother to me. I am Rudraprayag and he is from Uttarkashi which is four hours apart. I knew him well before the Road to UFC itself,” he commented on his relationship with Anshul. He recognises the door opened by Anshul which has now allowed more Indian fighters to be more confident of making it to the big leagues like the UFC.
Motivations and Current Training Challenges
While making it to the UFC was not something specific, he had in mind he opened about the moment he decided that he was going to take up his skills and showcase it in the big stages. He talked about some of his low points in his career. “When I lost a fight where I was knocked out, I had a concussion, I had also been choked out too. That’s when I decided that now I must go all the way to the UFC. It can’t get any worse than this. I then fought a couple of fights and thought that now I am ready,” he reflected.’
As for his training, he remains confident of his training camp ahead of the Road to UFC and talked about how he went about his preparations. According to him, most fighters usually go abroad, something we even see when it comes to most main carders.
But Angad sees it differently. “I used to go abroad to prepare for my fights for about 3 weeks. But I feel like you can’t make significant improvements in such short amounts of time. I would tell all the Indian fighters this too,” he commented.
For his preparations, Angad talked about how he used the resources within the country particularly the state-level boxers and wrestlers as part of his camp. He said,” The last 8 months we had state-level boxers and wrestlers to help us train. But in MMA it is a bit different, we get to use both aspects when fighting. There is also a big role in nutrition which I feel a lot of the fighters ignore. We brought in fighters and coaches from the national set-up and managed to improve ourselves”.
He sees the benefit in training with people who have been working on a particular discipline since their younger days instead of the MMA guys who have been brought in at a fairly later stage.
Mainstream Inspirations
On the current fighter he likes, Angad remains wary of the certainty in MMA that there is a rarity in a fighter being able to dominate over a long period. There are hardly a handful of fighters who are truly dominant like Khabib Nurmagomedov, and Jon Jones to name a few. But Angad used to like a certain Nate Diaz for his in-your-face attitude.
“But now there are levels to the game, you keep seeing different champions after some time. So it is difficult to say this guy is my favourite and then you see them lose,” he added.
Watch Road to UFC on 18th and 19th May 2024 from 3:30 PM IST onwards LIVE on Sony Sports Ten 2 SD & HD, Sony Sports Ten 3 SD & HD (Hindi), Sony Sports Ten 4 SD & HD (Tamil & Telugu).
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