BFL Hall of Fame 2025 Inductee: Gurdarshan Mangat

August 27, 2025

In the late 2000’s when MMA was illegal in Vancouver, there was a young Sikh Punjabi kid named Gurdarshan Mangat that found himself competing on reservations and small arenas across the border in Bellingham, Washington. As told by his first coach Tim Thurston, he regarded how Mangat “found himself locked in an early kimura attempt and didn’t know the submission defense, but myself and Blake (Fredrickson) taught him from the corner while he refused to tap”. Mangat eventually found an escape and pulled out a three round decision win. Thurston spoke highly of Mangat, saying “Skill we can build, but heart you’re either born with it or not, and Gary has it in huge amounts.” Although he split wins and losses in his next 3 bouts, he eventually found himself as a competitor in the very first BFL event: MMA at the Station. Mangat made his debut under the big lights of BFL with a thrilling first round finish over the late Alfred Leslie, locking in a rear naked choke to start his first of 9 BFL appearances and was about to start the longest win streak of his career. 

His next victory came as he co-headlined the main event at BFL2: Battlefield at the River Rock against the main event of BFL1, Chris Day. Mangat won a split decision in a back and forth battle, setting up a title shot at BFL5: Duel. On January 15, 2011, Mangat went on to win a unanimous decision and make history as the first BFL Amateur Featherweight champion against the late Cam Deleurme. In his next four bouts, he defeated Mark Delgado via a first round submission, Dan Lin via unanimous decision, Sicong Liu via 2nd round submission, and Jordan Mackin via 1st round retirement. Although Gurdarshan found a home in BFL early in his career, his dream of being an MMA athlete has taken him all across the world. Competing in Brave CF in India, Super Fight League in India and Bahrain, and eventually finding a home in ONE Championship where he is still pursuing his dream. As of the time of this article, Mangat holds a professional record of 16 wins and 3 losses, with 10 wins coming via stoppage. 

In the early days of the MMA boom with BFL, Mangat was a prominent and recognizable figure in the community and continues to this day. He continues to train and compete, mixing in Jiu Jitsu competitions while training with Bibiano Fernandes at Flash Academy and MMA training out of Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. He actively pursues working and helping with high risk youth, all while managing family life at home. We are honored and privileged to announce Gurdarshan “Saint Lion” Mangat as part of the Hall of Fame Class of 2025 .