India's Angad Bisht is among the 16 fighters from the Asian continent who will look to get an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) contract when the Road To UFC Season 3 returns on August 23 (early August 24 as per Indian time). (More Sports News)

Bisht will battle it out in the flyweight category against Korea's Dong Hun Choi in the semi-finals. A victory in the bout will help him seal a face-off against either the Indian-origin Kiru Singh Sahota or Ruel Panales of Philippines in the final, that would take place at the end of this year or in the beginning of 2025.

The 28-year-old, who has a 10-3 win-loss record, is looking to make his mark in the mixed martial arts qualifying competition. Angad hails from the hills of Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand. This is the same state that has produced badminton star Lakshya Sen.

The 23-year-old Sen put on a stirring fight at the Paris Olympics, only to lose his bronze medal match to Lee Zii Jia, 22-20, 16-21, 19-21.

When asked as to why Uttarakhand produces such good athletes, Angad put it down to good genes.

He said, "Guys who come from Uttarakhand are genetically good. This is down to good cardio, good genes (from their family)."

He added that the men from the state were earlier bound with limited opportunities. "Folks from here are now receiving good opportunities. Earlier, we only used to get opportunities in hotel management and serving in the Indian Army.

Sports here is on the boom and according to me, many guys from Uttarakhand will rise," he concluded.

Angad Bisht will be seen in action in the Road to UFC Season 3 on 24th August, 2024 at 6:30 AM IST LIVE On Sony Sports Ten 2 SD & HD, Sony Sports Ten 3 SD & HD (Hindi), Sony Sports Ten 4 SD & HD (Tamil & Telugu).