"Stay as busy as possible in both industries" - Arjan Bhullar on concurrent pro wrestling and MMA goals

Arjan Bhullar has recently signed a new contract with ONE Championship and he’s setting his sights on staying as active as possible, both as a fighter and as a pro wrestler.

In an interview on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Bhullar revealed that his new multi-fight, multi-year deal allows him to dabble in pro wrestling as well. The Indian world champion mentioned that WWE and AEW have expressed interest in him, but he couldn’t move forward with any discussions because of his previous contract.

Bhullar said that he doesn’t have a preference between the two companies and is only focused on being able to fight in the circle while pursuing his dream of becoming a professional wrestler. He said:

“I want the flexibility to be able to compete as well as pro wrestle. That’s the main thing for me, I want to do both at the same time. It’s never been done. I want to do that and stay as busy as possible in both industries. I don’t have a preference.”

The 35-year-old noted that both pro wrestling promotions recognize the push that’s wanted and needed to tap into the Indian market. He pointed to examples like veteran Jinder Mahal and rising superstar Veer Mahaan getting significant attention in WWE and AEW introducing Satnap Singh, who Bhullar has a personal relationship with.

Ultimately, the ONE heavyweight world champion is just excited to be in a position where he can pursue professional wrestling while still being an active fighter. He added:

“I’m excited man, it doesn’t really matter for me. Like I said, I take care of myself first and that’s going to be whoever allows me to fight at the same time.”

---

Arjan Bhullar already looking ahead to the future

Arjan Bhullar may be on top of ONE Championship’s heavyweight division right now, but he understands that a career in fighting doesn’t last forever.

As such, he wants to maximize his prime by staying as active as possible and putting one foot through the door for a possible career after he retires from the fight game. He told Helwani:

“I am in my prime, these are my best years, that’s why I don’t want to sit around. I’ve wanted to be busy, I want to be busy moving forward. But, this is also something I want to do full-time, and once I’m done competing, like, a lot of fighters going broadcasting and being in events and that’s not what I want to do. I want to be a pro wrestler. So I’m putting my one foot in there and I’m going to do this and it’s something I’m setting up for full time beyond once I’m done competing.”

However, Arjan Bhullar believes that he must first fulfill his obligation as the world champion and fight ONE interim heavyweight world champion Anatoly Malykhin before starting his pro wrestling career.

Now that he’s officially back with ONE Championship, a unification bout should be on the horizon.