Mixed Martial Arts: Meet Angad Bisht – the maverick who became flyweight champion

More than three years ago, another twenty-something-year-old in Uttarakhand, was being persuaded to appear for a public service commission examination. It was a familiar story. One that plays on repeat in many, many Indian households.

But Rudraprayag’s Angad Bisht believed in writing himself a story that is far from conventional. It wasn’t the security, perks or stability of a government job that enticed him. What intrigued him was the gore, thrill and adrenaline rush that came with fighting inside an octagon.

Today, Bisht is the top-ranked fighter in the Flyweight division, according to Tapology’s recent South Asian Pro Ranking and one of India’s top mixed martial arts fighters.

His friends and supporters believe that becoming popular enough to feature as one of the questions in the Uttarakhand Public Service Commision Examination – the same one he was once being coaxed to take – is the ultimate definition of ‘making it big.’ But Bisht has even bigger plans.