The Unified MMA octagon is set to host KB Bhullar once again.
Bhullar (8-2), who calls Edmonton, Alta. home, is preparing for his first outing since departing the UFC, where he competed in two bouts. He is scheduled to face Anton Tokarchuk (4-4-1) of Calgary, Alta., in a light heavyweight matchup at Unified MMA 40 on Saturday night in Edmonton.
The 29-year-old Bhullar described a mix of reactions to his UFC release—surprise and frustration among them—but remains driven to climb back into the world's premier promotion.
"It's a cocktail of feelings. That's (UFC) where I want to be fighting. It's not just that, but it's the financial perspective too of going back to the regional scene. It's like a kick to the gut fighting this week," Bhullar told MMA Empire during a recent interview.
"But I have to keep the path. This is what I do. I'm not just going to stay down, I'm going to keep going. I know I can keep active, keep winning, keep learning, keep growing as a fighter and martial artist, and I'll be back where I need to be. I just need to stay the path and not get discouraged."
Bhullar's most recent UFC appearance came in May, when he fell via unanimous decision to Andreas Michailidis.
According to Bhullar, he had numerous chances during the fifteen-minute contest to accumulate significant strikes and potentially end the fight early, but failed to take advantage of those moments.
"Once I created opportunities to strike, I needed to go in and just start piecing basic combinations together and just hitting him," Bhullar explained.
"The opportunities were there, I just wasn't doing what I was supposed to be doing, and that was the biggest piss off for me coming out of that fight because going back to the stool between rounds not tired and I just wasn't executing. That was a big frustration on myself. I was creating opportunities with the small shots, but wasn't taking advantage of them by piecing it together and landing something significant. I needed to up the aggression in that fight and I didn't do that."
Known as a reliable finisher, Bhullar believes his hesitation to pull the trigger against Michailidis could be linked to suffering the first TKO defeat of his career in the fight before that one, against Tom Breese.
"If I remove myself from the situation and just watch it at a bird's-eye view, I look at it and think maybe that's why," Bhullar reflected.
"In the end, I have to learn from it, move forward and adapt. After that fight, I just wanted to get back in as soon as possible and make those adjustments because I was completely healthy. I just needed to get this bad taste out of my mouth and stay active."
Getting back to the UFC starts with a challenging matchup against Tokarchuk, who arrives on a three-fight losing streak.
Bhullar recognizes the significance of securing a victory over Tokarchuk and plans to return to his finishing instincts.
"I don't know how it's going to play out, but I know I'm going in there to finish him. I won't make a prediction, but that's my goal every single time I fight," Bhullar said.
"I need to get this f**king win."
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