Tag: Arjan Bhullar

ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong savagely takes down Arjan Bhullar after DQ: ‘India will no longer look at him as a hero’

The first “red card on timidity” in the history of ONE Championship incurred the wrath of promotion chief Chatri Sityodtong.

You might say ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong took a page out of Dana White’s playbook on Friday.

Countless times throughout the years, White has thrown his UFC fighters under the bus when they haven’t performed to his expectations. Sityodtong did just that after ONE Championship 166 when he went in on criticizing former heavyweight champion [autotag]Arjan Bhullar[/autotag] following his disqualification loss to Amir Aliakbari.

“There’s just no excuse,” Sityodtong told reporters at the ONE Championship 166 post-event news conference in Lusail, Qatar. “What Arjhan did is just unacceptable at ONE Championship.”

The reason Bhullar was disqualified? Inactivity.

To say Sityodtong was embarrassed by the outcome might be an understatement as he didn’t hold back with his criticism of Bhullar (11-3).

“That’s the first time in the history of the company that we’ve ever issued a red card on timidity,” Sityodtong said. “He didn’t want to fight. And if you don’t want to fight then why are you a professional fight? And you definitely don’t belong in the pinnacle of martial arts. I was deeply disappointed in Arjan, and I think he let down India.

“India will no longer look at him as a hero.”

Harsh words from the ONE boss about a fighter the promotion once touted as a huge deal for growing MMA in India. But were they warranted?

Referee Herb Dean made things clear with repeated warnings throughout the fight that he needed to see more forward engagement from Bhullar. Using ONE’s soccer-like card warning system, Dean issued Bhullar a yellow card early in the second round and then again a few minutes later before the bell rang – each of which came with a 10 percent fine from Bhullar’s fight purse.

At the start of the third, Dean told Bhullar a third infraction would likely incur a disqualification. With 45 seconds left in the fight, Dean finally had seen enough – or not enough – and disqualified Bhullar.

The defeat was Bhullar’s second in a row after he lost the heavyweight title to Anatoly Malykhin – who became a three-division champion at ONE 166 –in June 2023.

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ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong savagely takes down Arjan Bhullar after DQ: ‘India will no longer look at him as a hero’

The first “red card on timidity” in the history of ONE Championship incurred the wrath of promotion chief Chatri Sityodtong.

You might say ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong took a page out of Dana White’s playbook on Friday.

Countless times throughout the years, White has thrown his UFC fighters under the bus when they haven’t performed to his expectations. Sityodtong did just that after ONE Championship 166 when he went in on criticizing former heavyweight champion [autotag]Arjan Bhullar[/autotag] following his disqualification loss to Amir Aliakbari.

“There’s just no excuse,” Sityodtong told reporters at the ONE Championship 166 post-event news conference in Lusail, Qatar. “What Arjhan did is just unacceptable at ONE Championship.”

The reason Bhullar was disqualified? Inactivity.

To say Sityodtong was embarrassed by the outcome might be an understatement as he didn’t hold back with his criticism of Bhullar (11-3).

“That’s the first time in the history of the company that we’ve ever issued a red card on timidity,” Sityodtong said. “He didn’t want to fight. And if you don’t want to fight then why are you a professional fighter? And you definitely don’t belong in the pinnacle of martial arts. I was deeply disappointed in Arjan, and I think he let down India.

“India will no longer look at him as a hero.”

Harsh words from the ONE boss about a fighter the promotion once touted as a huge deal for growing MMA in India. But were they warranted?

Referee Herb Dean made things clear with repeated warnings throughout the fight that he needed to see more forward engagement from Bhullar. Using ONE’s soccer-like card warning system, Dean issued Bhullar a yellow card early in the second round and then again a few minutes later before the bell rang – each of which came with a 10 percent fine from Bhullar’s fight purse.

At the start of the third, Dean told Bhullar a third infraction would likely incur a disqualification. With 45 seconds left in the fight, Dean finally had seen enough – or not enough – and disqualified Bhullar.

The defeat was Bhullar’s second in a row after he lost the heavyweight title to Anatoly Malykhin – who became a three-division champion at ONE 166 –in June 2023.

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Arjan Bhullar: Francis Ngannou ‘beat the machine’ with PFL deal, proved ‘UFC isn’t the entire sport’

Arjan Bhullar lauds Francis Ngannou for taking a chance on himself by signing with PFL.

[autotag]Arjan Bhullar[/autotag] lauds [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] for taking a chance on himself by signing with the PFL.

Former heavyweight champion Ngannou parted ways with the UFC and signed a deal with the PFL that allows him to box and gives him equity and a leadership role within the promotion.

Former ONE Championship heavyweight titleholder Bhullar (11-2) – he lost the belt Friday to interim champ Anatoly Malykhin (13-0) in a title unification bout– thinks Ngannou’s deal will only benefit fighters moving forward.

“He was able to beat the machine and get a great deal for himself,” Bhullar told MMA Junkie. “It proves MMA is real because he’s the highest paid heavyweight of all time, and it’s outside the UFC. The UFC isn’t the entire sport. MMA is a real option. There are other promotions, and he proved that.

“He’s the second highest-paid fighter of all time now because of that deal – potentially the highest paid, depending on how his boxing goes. And all that, again, is outside the UFC. So good on him for betting on himself and cashing in.”

ONE Championship was in the bidding for Ngannou before he signed with the PFL. Bhullar is disappointed Ngannou didn’t end up in the same promotion as him, but doesn’t rule out the possibility of them fighting.

“I would have loved for it to be within ONE Championship,” Bhullar said. “I’m an athlete. I like to test myself against the best. He is the lineal MMA champion of the world. He holds that title and that prestige right now. I would have loved to be able to compete for that. (I’m) not saying it’s not a possibility still. It could potentially be an even bigger fight if we’re able to co-promote, to be quite honest with you. Let’s see how things play out for him.”

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ONE Friday Fights 22 results: Anatoly Malykhin overwhelms, stops Arjan Bhullar in heavyweight title unifier

ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong declared Anatoly Malykhin the “best heavyweight on the planet” after yet another dominant performance.

ONE Championship has a new undisputed heavyweight champion – and he’s still perfect.

In their title-unification bout at ONE Friday Fights 22, [autotag]Anatoly Malykhin[/autotag] overwhelmed [autotag]Arjan Bhullar[/autotag] before winning by TKO with ground-and-pound in the third round at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. It was yet another show of dominance from Malykhin, who is now 13-0 since turning pro in 2016 and has finished all 13 of his fights.

Afterward, ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong got on the microphone and declared Malykhin “the best heavyweight on a planet.” Whether or not that’s actually true could be up for debate, but Malykhin (13-0) looked the part against Bhullar (11-2).

Right away in Round 1, Malykhin was the aggressor, leaving Bhullar no choice but to rely on his defensive boxing. Bhullar did find some success with his jab, but Malykhin clearly landed more combinations and heavier shots. In the second, Malykhin came out firing, with Bhullar again on his backfoot as he ate a pretty clean uppercut. Malykhin, with his relentless pressure, nicely worked in shots to the body, which opened up for him to land upstairs. It was a crisp and efficient display of boxing from Malykhin, which caused Bhullar to show fatigue as he walked back to his corner.

Malykhin had never entered the third round in his career, but there was no slowing down from the Russian. Right away he trapped Bhullar in the corner and unloaded a barrage of punches as he tried to finish. To Bhullar’s credit, he hung in there, and Malykhin switched to dragging him to the mat, where the two men rolled out of the ring. On the restart, Bhullar, who was starting to fade, appeared to intentionally crawl out of the ring as a stalling tactic, garnering a yellow card from the referee. When they restarted again, Malykhin jumped down on Bhullar, who turned to his stomach, and rained down punches for the finish at the 2:42 mark.

The fight was a rude awakening for Bhullar, who returned to action after a more-than-two-year layoff.

UFC veterans in MMA and bareknuckle boxing action June 23-25

Check out which veterans of the UFC are in combat sports action across the globe this weekend.

This week, the UFC returns to Jacksonville, Fla. for UFC on ABC 5.

The event at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena features a featherweight main event between [autotag]Josh Emmett[/autotag] and [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag].

Elsewhere, many other combat sports events are taking place that feature a number of familiar names that have competed under the UFC banner.

This week, there are a total of 16 veterans of the global MMA leader competing in MMA and bareknuckle boxing this week from June 23-25.

Check out the names and details about their bouts below.

Upcoming event information from Tapology.

Arjan Bhullar vs. Anatoly Malykhin heavyweight title unification bout set for ONE on Prime Video 8 in March

ONE Championship’s heavyweight title unification fight between champ Arjan Bhullar and Anatoly Malykhin has a new Amazon Prime Video date.

ONE Championship’s heavyweight title unification fight as a new date.

Heavyweight champion [autotag]Arjan Bhullar[/autotag] (11-1) will return to the cage March 24 to take on interim champ [autotag]Anatoly Malykhin[/autotag] (11-0), the promotion announced Sunday.

The fight will be part of ONE Fight Night 8 on Prime Video at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore. The main card will stream on Amazon Prime Video in the U.S. and Canada.

The heavyweights had been scheduled to fight this past September at ONE Championshihp 161 in Singapore, but Bhullar pulled out with an injury.

Bhullar will return after an absence of nearly two years. Most recently, he fought in April 2021 and won the heavyweight title against then-champ Brandon Vera with a second-round TKO. Bhullar only has fought twice since his departure from the UFC in the summer of 2019 and is 2-0.

Malykhin won the interim title in February 2022 with a knockout of Kirill Grishenko in the second round. The unbeaten 34-year-old is a perfect 3-0 under the ONE banner. All 11 of his pro wins are by stoppage, including eight knockouts.

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Arjan Bhullar vs. Anatoly Malykhin heavyweight title unification bout set for ONE Championship 161

Arjan Bhullar has his ONE Championship return booked.

[autotag]Arjan Bhullar[/autotag] has a date and opponent for his return to the cage.

The ONE Championship heavyweight champion is set to unify the titles against interim champion [autotag]Anatoly Malykhin[/autotag] on Sept. 29 at ONE championship 161 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore.

The news was reported by Ariel Helwani on Wednesday.

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Bhullar (11-1) most recently fought in April 2021 when he won the ONE Championship belt by taking it from then-champ Brandon Vera with a second-round TKO. Bhullar only has fought twice since his departure from the UFC in the summer of 2019, and is 2-0.

Malykhin (11-0) won the interim title in his most recent outing in February. He knocked out Kirill Grishenko in the second round to win the belt. The 34-year-old is undefeated with a 3-0 record in ONE Championship.

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When will we see ONE heavyweight champ Arjan Bhullar in pro wrestling?

If Arjan Bhullar turns out to be a dominant MMA champion, perhaps his dream of crossing over will come true.

Back in May, [autotag]Arjan Bhullar[/autotag] became the first fighter of Indian descent to win a major MMA title when he claimed the ONE Championship heavyweight belt with a second-round TKO of Brandon Vera. Afterward, Bhullar stated he’d be willing to make his first title defense against Kang Ji Won, but that’s not what stood out about his post-fight interview.

It was this sign-off message.

“Before my next fight, I do want to say one thing: I have reached the pinnacle of this sport,” Bhullar said. “Now I want to attack the pro wrestling industry. AEW, WWE, I’m coming for you guys next. Consider this a warning shot.”

To viewers, that might’ve sounded fake, but it was real – as in, the possibility exists for Bhullar to cross over into pro wrestling. According to him, there’s language in his ONE Championship contract that makes it so.

“It was serious from the get-go, and it is serious,” Bhullar told MMA Fighting. “I’m picking a fight with these guys, with the entire industry. AEW, WWE, it doesn’t matter. When I actually signed over from the UFC, we had language in our contract that would open the door to this. So we had some foresight on this.

“Both industries, there’s a blend there in terms of crossover and like I said, I want to pick a fight with these guys. They think they’re tough guys in the industry; I think I’m tougher. For the WWE, India’s the biggest market, they had over 20 million people tune in to (a recent event). You want India, we want India in terms of MMA. It all works.”

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WWE could be an option, sure, but AEW makes more sense given that ONE Championship also has a TV deal with TNT. One thing is clear: Bhullar loves pro wrestling, and he wants his shot, and he’s been trying to catch anyone’s attention on social media.

Calling out Baron Corbin

Calling out Bobby Lashley

Calling out Jake Hager

Celebrating nWo week

You’ve got to hand it to Bhullar for trying. Will there be any takers? We’ll see, but perhaps building his name as a dominant champion is Step 1 to a crossover.

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

Arjan Bhullar eyes double-champ status at ONE Championship – but not until he defends heavyweight title

Newly crowned ONE heavyweight champion Arjan Bhullar has aspirations of hoisting up two belts someday.

Newly crowned ONE heavyweight champion [autotag]Arjan Bhullar[/autotag] has aspirations of hoisting up two belts someday.

Bhullar (11-1) recently made history by becoming the first fighter of Indian descent to win a title in mixed martial arts when he stopped Brandon Vera in the second round to claim the heavyweight belt at “ONE Championship: Dangal” in Singapore.

Having competed at heavyweight for his entire pro career, Bhullar is now seeking a move down to light heavyweight to chase after a second belt – but not until he’s defended his heavyweight title first.

“I’m always looking for another challenge and to make history and grow,” Bhullar told MMA Junkie. “Vera tried to go down and was unsuccessful, so there’s never been anyone from ONE that’s gone down and got the light heavyweight belt. Definitely that’s on the radar, and that’s something that I would want to do.

“Immediately, no. I want to defend this, and we actually got some stuff cooking in the oven with pro wrestling, as well, but that is on the radar. I’m always looking for new and exciting stuff, rather than rinse and repeat.”

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When Bhullar made the walk against Vera, it was his first fight since October 2019, marking the longest time away from competition since childhood for the lifelong wrestler. Currently riding a four-fight winning streak, the 35-year-old Bhullar aims to be an active champion.

“This is the longest layoff I’ve had of my entire life since I was a little toddler from competition,” Bhullar said. “I’m not used to sitting around for a year, year-plus. I want to compete, so that’s going to happen, and that’s going to happen quick. I just want to enjoy this for now. I finally got out of quarantine, and get some fresh air and sunlight, and we’ll get back into it.”

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ONE Championship: Dangal results: Arjan Bhullar stops Brandon Vera to win title

Arjan Bhullar became the first fighter of Indian descent to win a major MMA title at ONE Championship: Dangal.

The truth is, [autotag]Arjan Bhullar[/autotag] has made history.

Bhullar became the first fighter of Indian descent to win a major MMA title on Saturday when he defeated [autotag]Brandon Vera[/autotag] by second-round TKO to claim heavyweight gold at ONE Championship: Dangal in Singapore.

Bhullar, a Canadian by birth who had a four-fight UFC tenure, put pressure on Vera right from the opening bell and dictated the pace for as long as the fight lasted. He secured a takedown with about two minutes remaining in Round 1 but couldn’t do much with it.

In Round 2, Bhullar (11-1) continued with pressure that forced Vera (16-9) to fight from the outside. Bhullar hurt Vera with two hard punches before securing another takedown, again with about two minutes remaining. This time, Bhullar smothered Vera from behind and rained punches on him. At one point, Vera got back to his feet only to be dragged down immediately. With Vera unable to escape and Bhullar’s punches raining from behind, the referee stepped in to stop the fight at the 4:27 mark.

After his victory, Bhullar, 35, issued a callout – not to any MMA fighters but rather pro wrestlers.

“I have reached the pinnacle of this sport,” Bhullar said. “Now I want to attack the pro wrestling industry. AEW, WWE, I’m coming for you guys next. Consider this a warning shot.”

Vera, 43, a former longtime UFC competitor, had reigned as ONE’s inaugural heavyweight champ since December 2015.

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