By Daniel Vreeland

Countless fighters have made the statement, "If you can’t get excited about a fight, you’re in the wrong business." However, it never hurts to have a little outside motivation to step into the cage. 

For former Canadian Olympian and UFC heavyweight Arjan Bhullar, the ultimate motivator has arrived just in time for his sophomore effort inside the Octagon. 

In a recent interview with the Top Turtle MMA Podcast on FloCombat, Bhullar talked about what has him feeling as deadly as ever for his April 14 fight at UFC on Fox 29 in Glendale, Arizona. 

Less than a month ago, his wife gave birth to his daughter, Ajuni, whom he says gives him not just purpose out of the cage but inside it as well. 

“You have a pair of eyes that look up to you, that human body, that mouth, all relies on you," Bhullar said. "So if that’s not motivation enough, I don’t know what it’s gonna take.” 

And while some might see that as added pressure for his upcoming fight, Bhullar sees his newborn child as someone who brings a new focus to what he already does every day. 

“I don’t consider it pressure," Bhullar said. "I consider it extra motivation and purpose, which adds to the motivation and purpose I already have. Whatever we have been training with as fuel has just been multiplied.”

Although the birth of his daughter necessitated a shift for some media obligations, Bhullar says it has not disrupted his training in any way. The solid planning of he and his wife has lead to no disruptions leading up to his fight with Adam Wieczorek.  

“It was all pre-planned," Bhullar said. "We knew her arrival was any day, and we had a great plan in place to help me stay the course on the upcoming fight. [I was] excited, happy and all that stuff but at the same time, in the gym and on track.”

With all the added duties outside the cage, it’d be wild to imagine Bhullar taking on any more than he already is. However, that didn’t stop him from discussing his future hopes of one day stepping into the squared circle like his good friend and WWE superstar Jinder Mahal.

“Down the road, anything can happen. I would love to be able to dip into there,” Bhullar said. 

The longtime wrestling fan added he was closer to becoming a part of the pro wrestling organization than many people realize. 

“I actually had that opportunity to go to the [WWE] development system down in Florida after the Olympics and before I committed to this MMA journey I’m on,” Bhullar said. “You have to have passion for that to be able to do it day in and day out.”