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Arjan Bhullar has come a long way in his MMA career. The 35-year-old fighter credits two former UFC champions, Daniel Cormier and Cain Velasquez, for guiding and mentoring him at the American Kickboxing Academy, thereby allowing him to compete at the highest level in the world of MMA.
Bhullar came to ONE Championship in October 2019 and quickly bagged a win over Mauro Cerilli via unanimous decision. His next bout was for the heavyweight title against the MMA promotion's inaugural champion Brandon Vera.
Both fighters met inside the cage in May 2021 with Bhullar securing the win with a second-round TKO.
In September, Bhullar had a chance to show his mentors his belt and take an iconic picture in San Jose, California.
Check out Bhullar's interview with the South China Post, detailing Cormier and Velasquez's influence on him:
"Cain’s the OG, much respect to him, without Cain there’s no DC and without either of those guys, there’s no me. He’s the original guy, he’s the original brown pride. Great to see those guys coming over from a wrestling background becoming legends and GOATs, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel, you had the best of the best in that one gym. There’s no other team that could say that."
More than training with Velasquez and Cormier, Bhullar also wants to emulate how both MMA icons have been carrying themselves outside of the sport.
"Beyond just fighting, how the both of them are family men, both of them are successful in business beyond the cage, and carry themselves with the utmost class so I take notes on all that." Bhullar said.
Potential matchup with Reiner De Ridder in ONE Championship
Reigning two-division champion Reinier De Ridder has captivated ONE Championship by defeating Aung La Nsang twice in a row. 'The Dutch Knight' is hungry to keep his momentum running and there is some speculation that he be be targeting adding another championship belt to his collection.
The most realistic opportunity for De Ridder to become a three-division champion is to fight Arjan Bhullar. The ONE Championship titleholder is aware of this and would like to take on the challenge and even try to go to a lower division and take De Ridder's light-heavyweight belt.
"The king decides like I said when I feel I want to take on that challenge and squash that little bug, I will do that," said Bhullar. "As of right now, I’m the heavyweight king and I will defend my heavyweight title, and then hey, who knows, maybe I want to be the light- heavyweight king as well. Maybe we go that way but I will decide, I’m on the A-side and he’s on the C side, that’s the way it is."
Bhullar now holds a 11-1 professional MMA record. His wins are divided into seven decisions and four knockouts. He has won his two bouts in ONE Championship and is now on a four-fight winning streak.
