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Arjan Bhullar hopes to establish himself in the world title picture, and that mission gets underway at ONE 166: Qatar inside the Lusail Sports Arena on March 1.
After a tough 2023 that saw him lose his gold to reigning two-division king Anatoly Malykhin, ‘Singh’ is motivated to start his year off with a bang to put that painful loss to bed.
The former ONE heavyweight MMA world champion, one of the hardest workers in the room, did not rest easy since that unfortunate day.
Arjan Bhullar went back to work instantly to ensure he puts up a better performance when he returns.
Now that his comeback fight – against Amir Aliakbari – is confirmed, the 37-year-old star promises to unleash hell when he steps onto the global stage next month.
Speaking to ONE Championship, the American Kickboxing Academy athlete said:
“Danger is coming. I am that. So, he knows what's coming. Don't need to warn him about anything.”
The defeat to ‘Sladkiy’ inside the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, last year is just one of many factors for his eagerness to leave Qatar with a statement.
On top of his to-do list, India’s first-ever MMA world champion wants to continue growing the sport in his home country, and the best way to do so is to leave ONE 166: Qatar with his hand raised at the expense of Aliakbari.
A victory for Arjan Bhullar at ONE 166 should position him as a heavyweight world title favorite
As the former ONE heavyweight MMA world champion, there’s every reason to believe that Arjan Bhullar can book a ticket to a shot at gold with a win over Aliakbari on ONE Championship’s debut card in the region.
Though many may argue that he’d probably need to get past names like ‘Reug Reug’ Oumar Kane, Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida, Kang Ji Won, and Kirill Grishenko, some see this pivotal heavyweight MMA showdown as one that will unearth Malykhin’s next contender.
Aliakbari enters this fight on the back of three victories, while ‘Singh’ hopes to pick his third triumph following wins over Mauro Cerilli and Brandon Vera.
ONE 166: Qatar will be available to North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription on March 1.
