A 27-year-old man from Kerala who dreamed of fighting in the UFC one day was killed in a rare black bear attack while working at a remote uranium exploration site in northern Canada.

Hrishikesh Koloth, an aspiring Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter, died on May 8 at the Zoo Bay property operated by UraniumX Discovery Corp near Nordbye Lake in northern Saskatchewan, nearly 850 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon.

Koloth had moved to Canada three years ago and was living with his elder brother, Arjun Koloth, in Penticton. He was working as a contract technician at the exploration site when the attack occurred.

According to reports, another civilian worker at the site shot and killed the black bear following the attack. The animal’s remains were later sent to the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon for a necropsy as investigators attempt to determine the bear’s health condition and what may have triggered the rare incident.

Hrishikesh had reportedly trained in boxing and MMA for more than a decade and nurtured ambitions of competing in the UFC. Friends and family said he balanced long work shifts with intense training sessions, hoping to build a career in professional fighting.