Arjan Bhullar sounds off on his legacy as ONE heavyweight world champion

Indian-Canadian fighter Arjan Bhullar believes he has already left a mark in mixed martial arts by becoming the ONE heavyweight world champion. But he said he is not yet done.

The 37-year-old American Kickboxing Academy affiliate became the king of the heavyweight division by beating erstwhile champion and now-retired Brandon Vera in their title showdown in May 2021.

‘Singh’ Bhullar took the gas out of ‘The Truth’ and emerged triumphant by way of technical knockout in the second round.

It was a proud moment for Arjan Bhullar, who was a Commonwealth Games wrestling gold medallist and a former UFC campaigner before joining ONE Championship in 2019.

In a recent session with Smart Talk with Sandhu, the ONE heavyweight world champion sounded off on the significance of becoming an MMA champ. He said:

“I’m happy I have that, I have that forever. That’s a part of me, you can never take that away from me. That’s what I always want, no matter what, to leave my mark.”

Watch the interview below:

Arjan Bhullar looks to extend his reign as ONE heavyweight world champion when he defends the title for the first time on June 23 at ONE Friday Fights 22 at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok.

He will face off against ONE interim heavyweight world champion Anatoly Malykhin in a long-awaited unification bout.

It will be the first match of Arjan Bhullar after the Vera fight. But despite the long layoff, he said he is in fighting form, having kept himself busy working on his game in the gym during the lengthy break from competition.

Out to cut Bhullar’s reign is Anatoly Malykhin, who is seeking to become a bona-fide two-division ONE world champion with a victory.

The Russian juggernaut is also the reigning ONE light heavyweight world champion, having knocked out former title holder Reinier de Ridder of the Netherlands in their title clash back in December.