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Arjan Bhullar is excited to experience a trip to Qatar for his upcoming fight with ONE Championship.
In June 2023, Bhullar’s run as the ONE heavyweight MMA world champion ended when he suffered a third-round TKO against Anatoly Malykhin. Since then, ‘Singh’ has prepared for a bounce-back year in 2024.
On March 1, Bhullar will return to action when he meets fellow heavyweight contender Amir Aliakbar at ONE 166: Qatar. During an interview with ONE, the former heavyweight MMA king had this to say about getting the opportunity to fight in Qatar:
“I’m excited again. Life’s a journey. It’s a life experience to go out there and be in Qatar. I don’t know if I will ever go back again in my life, so I’m going to enjoy that.”
Before losing to Malykhin, Arjan Bhullar separated himself as the ONE heavyweight MMA world champion after defeating Mauro Cerilli and Brandon Vera. ‘Singh’ now faces another tough challenge against Amir Aliakbari.
Aliakbari made his ONE debut in March 2021 and lost his first two fights by first-round knockout against Malykhin and Kang Ji Won. The Iranian grappler quickly turned things around with three consecutive knockout wins against Cerili, Vera, and Dustin Joynson.
With a win at ONE 166, Amir Aliakbari or Arjan Bhullar could potentially earn a rematch against Malykhin or a number one contender matchup against ‘Reug Reug’ Oumar Kane.
Who else is fighting at ONE 166: Qatar besides Arjan Bhullar?
ONE Championship’s first event in Qatar is expected to be a mega event, with three world title rematches scheduled for the unfinished fight card.
In the main event, Anatoly Malykhin looks to become a three-division world champion by defeating Reinier de Ridder, who was dethroned of his light heavyweight throne by Malykhin in December 2022.
The other two world title fights at ONE 166 will also be rematches. Firstly, Jarred Brooks will defend his strawweight MMA throne against Joshua Pacio. In December 2022, Brooks dethroned Pacio of ONE gold with a unanimous decision win.
Meanwhile, Thanh Le plans to get revenge and regain the ONE featherweight MMA world title against Tang Kai. In August 2022, Tang dethroned Le by unanimous decision at ONE 160. The Chinese superstar has since been active due to an injury, leading to the Vietnamese-American becoming the interim title holder.
Lastly, Osamah Almarwai and Cleber Sousa look to secure their first win under the ONE banner when they face each other in a submission grappling match.
