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As per some popular theories, it was the Indian saint Bodhidharma who took Kalaripayattu (Indian martial arts) from the southern Indian state of Kerala and introduced it in Shaolin temple, which set the ball rolling for the evolution of martial arts.
It is an ancient storyline and is questionable. But it was not just Bodhidharma who immigrated from the Indian subcontinent to other parts of the world.
The Indian diaspora is ubiquitous, and some of them have trained in world-class training facilities across the globe and have forged themselves into modern-day fight machines.
These combatants may fight under a different flag, but they still cherish the fighting spirit of India and have developed a fan base in India.
This list comprises of five such high-level MMA fighters who are of Indian descent.
#5 Sasha Sharma
Sascha Nitin Sharma is officially the first MMA fighter of Indian origin to compete at The Ultimate Fighter.
The TUF vet hails from Germany but has Indian roots, and was born to an Indian father and a German mother.
Most of us remember Sasha from the TUF 22 footage where Conor McGregor gets angry at him for not listening to his corner and taking the fight to the ground.
Sasha represented Team Conor in TUF 22 and was not paying attention to Conor's instruction to fight on his feet, which pissed off the Irishman.
He lost that fight against Chris Gruetzemacher (Team Faber) via unanimous decision and had to leave the ultimate fighter.
Later in an interview, Sasha said, Conor was right but he took the fight to the ground due to his shoulder injury which stopped him from clinching efficiently.
Sasha Sharma is a brown belt under Oliver Maier in the Xande Ribero style of jiu-jitsu.
He last bout was against Abdul Azim Badakhshi of Afganistan, which he lost via KO (knees) in the semi-finals of Season 2 of Super Fight League
Sasha is proud of India's culture and heritage and believes that India has a greater role to play in world MMA.
#4 Jaideep Singh
Jaideep Singh is an Indian-Japanese heavyweight kickboxer who later became a mixed martial artist. He is the 2009 K-1 World Grand Prix tournament champion.
Towering at 6-foot-6-inches and weighing around 100 Kgs, he has more than 50 kickboxing matches in his career with around 40 wins.
Born in Punjab, he is very popular in the Japanese kickboxing circuit and fights out of Tokyo.
He debuted at SFL 19 on June 7, 2013, and TKO'd Alireza Tavak with elbows of his top in round one. He had prophesied his victory prior to the bout.
After his second victory against Carlos Toyota in Deep (Japan-based MMA promotion), he was chosen as the opponent for Fedor Emelianenko for his comeback fight.
He faced Fedor Emelianenko on 31 December 2015 in Japan under Rizin Fighting Federation banner and lost the fight via TKO in the first round.
#3 Gurdarshan Mangat
Gurdarshan (Gary) Singh Mangat grew up near Williams Lake in British Columbia, Canada.
He created history as the first MMA fighter of Indian origin to compete for a championship title in an international MMA event.
Before this fight, Mangat had secured a unanimous-decision victory against Top Indian prospect Abdul Muneer to win the bout by unanimous decision at Brave CF 5 in Mumbai, India.
This bout was promoted as the fight to determine the best Indian MMA fighter. It also showcased one of the best rivalries featured in Indian Mixed Martial Arts history.
Mangat was a Certified General Accountant before he started focusing on making it as a mixed martial artist. He trains at Tristar gym and 10th planet jiu-jitsu.
He is currently fighting for U.P Nawabs in Super Fight League.
#2 Agilan Thani
Many of us know Agilan Thani as the kid who fought Ben Askern in ONE Championship: Dynasty of Heros.
Agilan may be young but he has the sheer will and motivation required to matchup against any World Champion.
He had joined ONE Championship in 2015 and quickly won six continuous stoppage wins, earning him his unexpected title shot against Ben Askren.
Askern considered the greatest welterweights of all time was definitely way above his level and made him tap out inside the first round.
But the 21-year-old faced the Olympic wrestler valiantly and even succeeded in sprawling out of the deadly ground offense by the greatest of all time.
Agilan fights out of Monarchy MMA in Kuala Lumpur where he developed solid BJJ and boxing skills.
He had to work as a janitor and give training sessions at the gym to make his ends meet. He even slept on the mat at night so that he can be present for the morning training on time.
Before joining Monarchy and turning professional he weighed around 140 Kgs and had only some basic understanding of Karate.
The Tamil-Malaysian MMA Prospect was born and bought up in Senthur and was raised by his father, Thanigasalam.
Life was difficult for his family, who had hotel business in the city. But this never stopped Mr. Thanigasalam from letting his son pursue his dreams.
His journey from a middle-class overweight kid, who was bullied in school, to fighting elite fighters at this young age is an inspiration for his compatriots and his fans in India.
#1 Arjan Sigh Bhullar
Arjan Singh Bhullar born and raised in Richmond, British Columbia, is the first Sikh and Indo-Canadian fighter signed to the UFC.
He is a 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medalist and the first person of Indian origin to represent Canada in the Olympics in Freestyle Wrestling.
At 31 years of age, he is a remarkable wrestler and has enough time to improve the other aspects of his game.
He is already very popular in India and has become the face of Sikh fighters in the combat world.
With a billion strong Indians to root for him, he has the potential to be the next poster child for UFC.
Aside from competing, Arjan is involved in donating his time, money and energy to various organizations and initiatives.
Bhullar lost his last fight against Adam Wieczorek in UFC Glendale via Omoplata submission and looking towards getting into the win column as soon as possible.
