Arjan Singh Bhullar beats Mauro Cerilli by unanimous decision at 'ONE: Century'
ARJAN SINGH BHULLAR HAS made a successful debut at ONE Championship, beating Mauro Cerilli by unanimous decision in Tokyo today.
The former Commonwealth Games gold medalist wrestler improved his professional MMA record to 10-1 with this victory.
Coming off a two fight winning streak in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Arjan signed for ONE earlier this year and was matched up against former Cage Warriors Heavyweight Champion and ONE Heavyweight title contender, Mauro Cerilli from Italy.
The bout opened the main card of the landmark "ONE Championship: Century (Part 2)" event, watched by an estimated 70 million people across the planet.
The fight began with Mauro Cerilli finding early success with leg kicks and quick jabs. Arjan stood his ground and tried to go for single-leg takedowns but Cerilli managed to prevent those. One of Mauro's hooks even rocked Arjan for a moment but the latter withstood the pressure and in the second round, the fight began to turn with Arjan answering with quick jabs and upper cuts, opening up a cut under Mauro Cerilli's eye.
The third round saw more of the back and forth between the two Heavyweights with fast punches flying both ways. Arjan pressed Mauro up against the cage which Mauro escaped, and he kept stuffing the takedown attempts as well. But Arjan, weathering the storm, finished the fight strong, landing a number of punches during a flurry of haymakers as the final seconds rolled down.
The judges unanimously awarded the victory to Arjan Singh Bhullar.
With this successful promotional debut against a former title challenger, Arjan Singh Bhullar has landed himself right among the top contenders in the division. In his exclusive interview with TFG before the fight, he had announced his intention to challenge Heavyweight champ Brandon Vera,
"It has always been my dream to become the champion. I've been thinking about it ever since I started my journey in Mixed Martial Arts... Brandon Vera is a great fighter, a true champion. He has done done some great things for the Filipino people. I want to do the same for India."
It remains to be seen if Arjan's next fight is for the belt or he is matched up with another top contender in the division in a fight for the spot of the top pick for a title bout.
