Vikas Ruhil (12-7-0), one of the weightiest names in the Indian mixed martial artist circuit, is all set to etch his name in the history books once again, as the bodybuilder-turned-MMA fighter will be the first from the country to be participating at Bellator MMA.
Vikas Ruhil to make history once again at Bellator Champions Series Belfast
There has been an exponential rise in the Indian MMA scene in recent times. We have seen some of the biggest MMA promotions around the globe to have the Indian flag’s representation, be it Ritu Phogat at ONE Championship, or Anshul Jubli and Puja Tomar in the UFC, and so on.
For Vikas Ruhil, its another history in the making. The Delhi-based fighter, who has been in the professional circuit since 2012, made headlines last year after becoming the first Indian fighter to compete in the Professional Fighters League (PFL) in January 2023.
Now, the 31-year-old is once again set to become a “first”, to represent the Indian flag at the upcoming Bellator Champions Series Belfast on 22nd March, where Vikas will be facing Irish fighter Nathan Kelly (9-2) in a featherweight contest and will be the first Indian fighter competing at Bellator MMA.
From heavyweight to featherweight- Vikas’ composed transition
Although he has been competing as a professional MMA fighter for over a decade, it was not the first discipline where Vikas started his combat sports career. His curtain raiser into the fight game was through wrestling, following which he transitioned into bodybuilding.
From bodybuilding, Vikas found him transitioning into powerlifting, as he still continued to have his body and mind invested into weights. What followed was his debut into the MMA cage as a heavyweight, and it was a tough path for him to come down all the way to his current division of featherweight.
Vikas made his pro MMA debut at Super Fight League 10 in November 2012, which ended with a loss to Nikola Janjić. However, he bounced back to victorious ways in his second contest for SFL, defeating Danny Mappla in February the next year.
From thereon, Vikas started to go down the weight class, competing at welterweight, lightweight before finally settling down for featherweight, where he made his debut for PFL last year at PFL Challenger Series 2023.
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