Following in the footsteps of TJ Laramie, KB Bhullar looks to be the next Canadian fighter to earn a UFC contract off Dana White’s Contender Series when he battles Bruno Oliveira on September 22.
The former Unified MMA middleweight champion has already experienced what UFC fight week looks like after cornering his teammate Tanner Boser at UFC Fight Island 3. But the 28-year-old doesn’t get caught up in the hype of fighting for a bigger promotion and treats every fight the same.
“Everyone talks about the bright lights and the glitz and glamour but you know it’s a cage fight in the end right?” Bhullar told Cageside Press. “The rules are the same, nothing changes. You make the same kind of walk, you’re in the back lock room … it’s all really the same. Once you, in your head, let all that seep in and make it different. You’re doing that to yourself. You’re letting external pressures affect you.”
Bhullar added, “But you know to answer your question like it did help, yeah going there with Tanner and getting to see it all firsthand. Especially on the Fight Island event like with it being completely quiet and everything that is is a little bit different, but I mean, overall, it’s all the same.”
Bhullar (8-0) has finished six of his eight career opponents and is coming off a unanimous decision victory over UFC veteran Matt Dwyer at Unified 38 in July 2019. “The Begal” is expecting an action-packed fight and one that will catch the eye of UFC President Dana White.
“I’m going to win this fight by one of two things,” Bhullar explained. “I’m going to be the first guy to win a flying omoplata or leaping scissor kick, it’s one of those. If Bruno wins, he wins by just basically coming out and just cleaving my head off in the first like, minute. But I’m gonna do everything in my power to not make that happen. On paper, it just makes for an exciting fight. I think the styles match up really well. But I’m going to do everything in my power to come out on top. I just gotta focus on me and show up that day with the desire to make sure this is been a long time coming. And I have to make good on that.”
Contender Series Week 8 takes place on September 22 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
