“It’s going to feel like a home arena” – Arjan Bhullar says he’ll have the homecourt advantage vs. Amir Aliakbari in Qatar

Former ONE heavyweight MMA world champion Arjan Bhullar is looking forward to the support of his fellow Indians when he makes his return to action in March in Qatar.

The 37-year-old former Olympian will battle on-a-roll Iranian fighter Amir Aliakbari in a featured heavyweight MMA clash at ONE 166: Qatar on March 1. The event will be ONE Championship’s first-ever live on-ground event in the rich Middle Eastern country, happening at the Lusail Sports Arena.

Arjan Bhullar is aware that Qatar is home to a large Indian community, something he is excited about. He told ONE Championship in an interview:

“There’s a huge community and population of Indians in Qatar. I’m very, very excited to meet with them. It’s going to be a huge motivation. It’s going to feel like a home arena, a home event.”

Arjan Bhullar was last in action in June 2023, where he lost the ONE heavyweight MMA world title to Russian Anatoly Malykhin by TKO in the third round. The defeat was the first in three fights so far for the American Kickboxing Academy affiliate since making his promotional debut in 2019.

Waiting for him at ONE 166: Qatar is Amir Aliakbari, 36, who has won his last three fights after starting his ONE campaign with two straight losses. His most recent victory came in July, where he made short work of Canadian Dustin Joynson by way of first-round submission (punches).

ONE 166: Qatar is part of an explosive roster of shows of ONE Championship for 2024, which is geared, among others, towards bringing its top-notch martial arts action to more people in different parts of the world.

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Arjan Bhullar thrilled to be competing at ONE 166: Qatar

Apart from experiencing the support of his fellow Indians, Arjan Bhullar is also excited to be competing at ONE 166: Qatar for its groundbreaking nature in what he believes is a developing haven for sports.

ONE 166 is the promotion’s first-ever live on-ground event in the rich country of Qatar and marks ONE Championship’s return to the Middle East.

Arjan Bhullar said he is thrilled to be competing in the historic event, recognizing how the country has seen an uptick in interest in sports, including hosting the last FIFA World Cup.

At ONE 166: Qatar, former ONE heavyweight MMA king Bhullar will battle streaking Amir Aliakbari.

The heavyweight clash is part of the main card, which includes three world title fights so far, led by the all-champion clash between ONE middleweight MMA world champion Reinier de Ridder and double world champion and challenger Anatoly Malykhin.

Also on offer is the title rematch between strawweight MMA king Jarred Brooks against former title holder Joshua Pacio and the featherweight MMA unification title bout between reigning champion Tang Kai and interim world champ Thanh Le.