ARJAN SINGH BHULLAR WILL make his promotional debut at the 'ONE Championship: Dawn of Heroes' event next week in Philipplines.
The Indian-Canadian heavyweight former Commonwealth Games gold medalist wrestler has been active in professional Mixed Martial Arts for four and a half years now, and he has amassed a record of 9 wins and 1 loss in 10 bouts.
Over the last couple of years, he has fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he won 3 of his 4 fights in emphatic fashion. Earlier this month, he announced that he would be joining the roster of ONE Championship.
Arjan, who made headlines last year when he became the first UFC fighter ever to wear the turban during his walkout, has become a sporting icon in Sikh comminuties not only in India and Canada but atround the world. In previous interviews with TFG he has expressed his wish to play a leading role in growing MMA's popularity in India.
His last fight was against fellow heavyweight prospect Juan Adams on 4th of May. Arjan won the bout via unanimous decision. His return to action on August 2nd will mark his 4th fight in 16 months.
He will be up for a challenging welcome to the promotion against former Cage Warriors Heavyweight Champion Mauro 'The Hammer' Cerilli (13-3 MMA, 1-1 ONE) who has a reputation for being a threat with his striking. Of his 16 professional fights, only 3 have gone the distance. Prior to joining ONE Championship he was on a 5 fight winning streak, with 4 stoppages, including two back to back first round KO/TKO victories in Cage Warriors.
Cerilli's ONE debut was a direct title shot against Heavyweight champion Brandon Vera, which resulted in him being knocked out by Vera just 64 seconds into the fight. He made a strong comeback in March, returning to the winners' column with a first round TKO over Alain Ngaini.
The fight between Arjan and Mauro will be a classic striker vs wrestler matchup, where the latter will look to finish the fight early while the former will attempt to drag his opponent across the ring, draining his energy and wearing him out through a 15 minute grinder.
The bout will be the penultimate item on the preliminary card in an event where the main card is a deep, diverse affair with two world titles on the line.
Arjan Singh Bhullar won't be the only former UFC fighter being showcased. Former UFC Flyweight champion Dimitrius Johnson and former UFC Lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez will also feature in the highly anticipated event, fighting in the semi-finals of ONE's flyweight and lightweight grand prix tournaments.
The co-main event and main event of the night will feature ONE Muay Thai Flyweight Champion Jonathan Haggerty and ONE Featherweight Champion Martin Nguyen defending their respective belts.
All in all, it's the deepest card that ONE have put on since "A New Era" back on March 31st which featured four title fights. The event is expected to draw eyeballs from MMA fans across the world, which makes it an ideal occasion for Arjan Singh Bhullar to make his promotional debut as a potential star name in the Heavyweight division.
Here's the full fight card for the "ONE Championship: Dawn of Heroes" event...
Main Card
Featherweight 70kg (For the ONE Featherweight Championship)
Martin Nguyen (c) vs. Koyomi Matsushima
Flyweight 61kg (For the ONE Muay Thai Flyweight Championship)
Jonathan Haggerty (c) vs. Rodtang Jitmuangnon
Lightweight 77kg (Lightweight Grand-Prix Semi-Finals)
Eduard Folayang vs. Eddie Alvarez
Flyweight 61kg (Flyweight Grand-Prix Semi-Finals)
Tatsumitsu Wada vs.Demetrious Johnson
Flyweight 61kg (Flyweight Grand-Prix Semi-Finals)
Danny Kingad vs. Reece McLaren
Bantamweight 66kg (Muay Thai)
Chris Shaw vs. Nuenglanlek Jitmuangnon
Preliminary Card
Flyweight 61kg (Flyweight Grand-Prix Reserve Bout)
Yuya Wakamatsu vs. Geje Eustaquio
Heavyweight 120kg
Mauro Cerilli vs. Arjan Bhullar
Lightweight 77kg
Dae Sung Park vs. Honorio Banario
Bantamweight 66kg
Daichi Takenaka vs. Leandro Issa
Welterweight 84kg
Yushin Okami vs. James Nakashima
Featherweight 70kg
Xie Bin vs. Edward Kelly
Strawweight 57kg
Miao Li Tao vs. Pongsiri Mitsatit
Strawweight 57kg
Ayaka Miura vs. Samara Santos
Bantamweight 66kg
Muhammad Aiman vs. Sunoto Peringkat