Is UFC ready for a turban-wearing fighter? Arjan Bhullar sure hopes so

Arjan Bhullar never dreamed his plan to wear a turban during his UFC debut was going to stir up such a fuss. Or confusion.

This past September, the 31-year-old Vancouverite was all set to wear a red turban for his pre-fight introduction when a UFC official told him he couldn't because it wasn't made by Reebok, the company with exclusive rights to outfit UFC fighters. 

"She said you can't wear anything that conflicts with what Reebok offers ... like the headbands or hats, and I'm like, but look, this is a turban. Reebok doesn't offer a turban!"

When he began explaining the turban was a symbol of his Sikh faith, things got even more weird. 

"She had to google Sikhism and what the turban is," he said. "I asked, what happens if I still wear it, and she said you could be fined."

Bhullar was willing to make a stand and pay the fine, but then a UFC vice president stepped in to calm matters, assuring him the turban could make an appearance at his next fight, once it had been pre-approved by the UFC legal department. 

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So, early next year, when Bhullar enters the big-league octagon for a second time, he will add another chapter to his story of being the first UFC fighter of South Asian descent, becoming the first turban-wearing fighter in the UFC. 

"For me it's important," he said. "Growing up, there was no Indian athlete I could look up to, that I could see who looks like me, who eats the same food, who comes from the same cultural background."

"If I can do that now, in the position I'm in for the next generation, why wouldn't I?"

Ironically, Bhullar doesn't wear a turban in everyday life. He says it's just not practical.

"I'm not blessed with the hair of Jagmeet Singh,"  he laughed. "And obviously, there's the physical nature of what I do, the constant training."

Bhullar did wear a turban — red, of course — in the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics, where he competed for Canada in wrestling. He says judging by the feedback, it was a powerful moment for many people and not just Sikhs.

"It was celebrated by all the athletes," he said. "It showed the individuality, that ability to be free no matter where you come from, the whole idea of openess and multiculturalism."

Although some may criticize his quest to wear a turban as nothing more than an exercise in branding and marketing, he doesn't see it that way.  

"If I can reflect strength, if I can reflect a positive message while wearing it, why wouldn't I?"

UFC's savy marketing machine know there's huge potential in allowing Bhullar to wear a turban, something that could help the sport make in roads into a market of over a billion people.

"They spoke to that and said we want to connect with the Indian market and fans and this will help us do that," said Bhullar. 

Bhullar, who won his UFC debut, says the date and opponent for his next fight is expected to be released in the next few weeks.