Ankit Baiyanpuria

Overview

Ankit Baiyanpuria’s most-watched moment as of 2026 was not a workout video. On 1 August 2026, the Haryana fitness influencer headlined a Hype Fighting card at Tashir Arena in Yerevan, Armenia, in a submission-only grappling match against UFC lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan — and tapped to an armbar inside three minutes (Sherdog). The mismatch was the point: Baiyanpuria, born Ankit Singh on 31 August 1998 in Bayanpur village, Sonipat district, Haryana, had built a following of millions documenting the 75 Hard Challenge and traditional Indian workouts, with no professional combat-sports record (Khel Now). What most coverage has missed is the aftermath: Tsarukyan publicly promised to visit India to coach Baiyanpuria’s wrestling, Baiyanpuria vowed the debut would not be his last bout, and the promotion signalled plans for an event in India (LowKick MMA).

From the akhada to the 75 Hard Challenge

Baiyanpuria grew up in a farming family in Bayanpur and joined a local akhada in his early teens, training in traditional wrestling under coach Krishan Pahalwan (Khel Now). He attended Government High School, Bayanpur Lahrara, through the 10th grade, studied in the Arts stream at Government Senior Secondary School, Model Town, Sonipat, from 2013 to 2015, and later enrolled for a B.A. at Maharshi Dayanand University in Rohtak before social media took over (News18).

Wrestling ended for him in 2022, when a dislocated shoulder — one of several serious injuries — forced him out of the sport (Hindustan Times). He worked for a time as a food delivery executive before committing to content full-time (Economic Times). His YouTube beginnings were Haryanvi comedy and prank videos under the channel name Haryanvi Khagad; during the Covid-19 lockdown he pivoted to fitness, renamed the channel after himself, and rebuilt it around desi training methods (Khel Now).

On 27 June 2023 he began the 75 Hard Challenge, the strict 75-day mental and physical discipline program created by American entrepreneur Andy Frisella in 2020: two 45-minute workouts daily (one outdoors), a strict diet with no cheat meals or alcohol, a gallon of water, ten pages of non-fiction reading, and a daily progress photo — miss a single task and the count restarts at day one (News18). He documented the whole run in short daily videos, and the audience response was explosive: more than 2.5 million Instagram followers in 28 days, per the Hindustan Times, growing to 5.2 million on Instagram and a million YouTube subscribers within months, per the Economic Times (Hindustan Times, Economic Times). By 2026, Khel Now put his Instagram following at over 7.5 million (Khel Now).

The formula was deliberately desi. He opened videos with the greeting “Ram Ram Sareya Ne,” demoed traditional exercises like sapate (wrestling burpees), rope climbing, and mud training, and wove in mental-well-being readings from the Bhagavad Gita (Economic Times, Hindustan Times). Off camera he follows a vegetarian diet built on milk, almonds, and ghee, with a post-workout recovery drink called Badam Ragda made from pressed almonds (News18). He became the official athlete of Bull Nutrition Cafe, a Gurugram startup, and promotes MuscleBlaze products in his videos (News18). In August 2023, rumors circulated that he might appear on the reality show MTV Roadies; the appearance never materialized in any source (News18).

National recognition

On 1 October 2023, a day before Gandhi Jayanti, Baiyanpuria joined Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the “Shramdaan for cleanliness” program under the Swachhata Hi Seva campaign. Modi shared a video of the two together, writing that they had “blended fitness and well-being also into the mix” for a “Swachh and Swasth Bharat vibe” (Hindustan Times).

Five months later came the formal honor. At the first-ever National Creators Award, held at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on 8 March 2024, the Prime Minister presented Baiyanpuria with the Best Health and Fitness Creator award. The government’s official release notes that he “had collaborated with the Prime Minister” and that he used the stage to urge the audience to work out regularly and lead a balanced lifestyle (Press Information Bureau).

A grappling debut, and what comes next

The Tsarukyan matchup was announced as the headliner of Hype Fighting’s 1 August 2026 card at Tashir Arena in Yerevan, confirmed through an official promotional poster. The rules were submission-only: no strikes, victory solely by joint lock or choke (Khel Now). Baiyanpuria prepared with training camps in Thailand and in Dagestan, Russia, alongside high-level coaches and fighters — his first appearance in organized combat sports (Khel Now).

It went as the odds suggested. Tsarukyan took him down three times, delivered repeated slams, and forced the tap with an armbar roughly two and a half minutes into the bout (Sherdog, LowKick MMA). Speaking afterward, Tsarukyan was blunt but generous: “[The fight] was good. He’s [Ankit Baiyanpuria] strong, but he needs to know how to wrestle. For sure, for sure [I will teach him when I come to India]. I have a fight coming up, and after the fight, I want to come” (LowKick MMA). Baiyanpuria’s own verdict: “This was my first match, not last. I tried my best.” The same report notes that he plans to compete again and that Hype FC intends to stage an event in India (LowKick MMA).

What this profile does not claim

This profile does not claim a professional MMA record for Baiyanpuria — sports coverage is explicit that he has none, and the Tsarukyan bout was a crossover exhibition, not a ranked professional fight (Sherdog). It does not resolve the differing descriptions of his family background across sources (daily-wage labourer roots versus a middle-class farming household); both attributions are reported above as their sources state them. It does not confirm the rumored MTV Roadies appearance, which never surfaced beyond August 2023 rumors. Follower counts are snapshots tied to their sources’ dates and should not be read as current figures. The profile also makes no claim about the medical or fitness efficacy of the 75 Hard Challenge itself — it reports only that Baiyanpuria documented completing it and that audiences responded.