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MONCTON, Canada – Arjan Bhullar was finished with a rare submission technique in his most recent octagon appearance. He said he’s moved past it, though, and intends on washing away those memories with an outstanding performance on Saturday at UFC Fight Night 138.

Bhullar (7-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC), who meets Marcelo Golm (6-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) in a heavyweight bout this weekend, succumbed to just the second omoplata submission in UFC history when he lost to Adam Wieczorek at UFC on FOX 29 in April. No one wants such a dubious spot in the record books, but Bhullar said he didn’t take the nature of the outcome personally.

Whether Bhullar lost by submission, knockout or on the scorecards, there was a lesson to be learned from failing to come out victorious for the first time in his MMA career. He took that to heart, and said a different fighter will step in the octagon at UFC Fight Night 138.

“I ended up getting caught, definitely,” Bhullar told MMAjunkie. “But obviously there’s a process involved after a loss. I’ve had losses in wrestling, so I was familiar with that. Very disappointing. It was a fight I was dominating, but that’s why it’s so exciting. You get caught, digested it, learned from it as a team and threw it away and gotten better because of it.”

UFC Fight Night 138 takes place at Avenir Centre in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. Bhullar vs. Golm streams on the early UFC Fight Pass prelims prior to the televised prelims on FS2 and the main card on FS1.

In the immediate aftermath of his loss to Wieczorek, Bhullar, 32, had a burning competitive fire within him that needed to be stoked. Unfortunately, he had to wait more than six months to get the opportunity.

Bhullar admits he’d hoped to return to action much sooner after the setback, but the UFC had different plans for him. Once he accepted that, though, Bhullar said he used the time for effective self-improvement.

“I wanted to get back right in there, right after that fight, as soon as we could,” Bhullar said. “We were healthy. I was in shape – let’s just go again. That’s the process I’m used to, but it wasn’t to be. Obviously there’s cards, and there’s a business angle or promotion. That’s been the frustrating part, but take the emotion out of it, learn what you have to and move forward. That’s what we’ve done. I’m actually very excited to showcase what we’ve been working on. We really focused in on different aspects of my game and taken everything to the next level.”

Although it wasn’t on his desired timeline, Bhullar said he’s pleased to compete on Canadian soil at UFC Fight Night 138, and against a recognizable foe, at that. Bhullar said he was scheduled to fight Golm in a regional bout in October 2015, but the Brazilian withdrew from the contest.

“My third professional fight, I was supposed to fight him in Calgary, and he ended up pulling out,” Bhullar said. “That was on the regional scene, then I got a different Brazilian to fight. So I’ve known him. We studied him back then. He hasn’t evolved much since that time and now. His skillset is much the same.”

Bhullar said there were brief discussions for him to fight Chase Sherman at the upcoming event, but that fight didn’t materialize. He’s happy with the alternative, though, because he’s not only familiar with his opponent, but he knows how to beat him, too.

“I’ll stop him,” Bhullar said. “He will concede to victory. I’ll push him (in the) standup, grappling; wherever the fight goes. I’m better than him. I will push him, he will concede. He’s already shown that. He quits.”

To hear more from Bhullar, check out the video above.

For more on UFC Fight Night 138, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.