History was made during ONE Championship: Dangal when Arjan Singh Bhullar became the first-ever fighter of Indian descent to win a major MMA championship.
Bhullar dethroned inaugural ONE heavyweight champion Brandon Vera by second-round TKO during the main event which was televised in the United States on May 15, 2021. With the win, Bhullar improved his professional MMA record to 11-1.
ONE ChampionshipArjan Bhullar defeats Brandon Vera at ONE Championship: Dangal on April 29, 2021, to earn the heavyweight championship belt.
In a recent interview with Heavy’s Stephen McCaugherty, they covered his fight with Vera, what’s next, UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou and much more.
Besides defending his heavyweight belt, Bhullar has dreams of becoming ONE’s light heavyweight champion, and more immediately, a professional wrestling star. Watch the full interview below:
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Bhullar Would Love to ‘Get His Hands’ On UFC’s Jon Jones, Doesn’t Like Him
At the end of the interview, Bhullar was asked for his thoughts on former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and whether he’d like to fight him one day. ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong recently expressed interest in working with the UFC to promote a “mega event” and Bhullar vs. Jones could be a fantastic scrap on that card.
Singh is close with Jones’ biggest rival, former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier. Bhullar also trains with “DC” at the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) in San Jose, California. Cormier and Jones fought twice with “Bones” coming out on top both times, first defeating DC by unanimous decision at UFC 182 and then by KO at UFC 214. Jones’ victory at UFC 214 was overturned to a no contest after Jones tested positive for a banned substance.
For Bhullar, he would love to avenge his friend Cormier by defeating Bones, who Singh referred to as a “fraud.”
“Heck yeah,” Bhullar said when asked if he wants to fight Jones. “When I got into this sport, I went down to AKA. My first time I walked through the doors [was] for Jones-DC 1. Now that’s when I walked in and I’ve never liked that guy since.”
ONE ChampionshipArjan Bhullar defeats Brandon Vera at ONE Championship: Dangal on April 29, 2021, to earn the heavyweight championship belt.
Although Bhullar respects Jones’ fighting skills, he views Bones as “a fake” and a “dirty athlete.”
“I don’t like him,” Singh continued. “I think he’s a fraud. He’s a fake. Do I respect his ability? Absolutely. Do I respect the way he cheats? Absolutely not. I’d love to punch him in the face for that. He is a dirty athlete.”
“He still finds a way around the system and a way to win, and he’s got the status. I’d love to fight him. I would love that.”
When Bhullar got into mixed martial arts, he always imagined fighting Jones. Singh made his professional debut in 2014.
“When I got into this sport. It was, ‘Okay, we’re gonna face Jon Jones one day. I want to be able to beat him, let’s get to work.’ That was always the end goal. So if I could ever get my hands on him, absolutely. And I’d be able to exact some revenge for AKA and my guy DC, so that’d be a bonus.”
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Bhullar Said He Had a Run-In With Jones Before Singh Had Gotten Into the Sport
Before he became a mixed martial artist, Bhullar was a highly successful wrestler, competing in the Olympics for Canada in freestyle wrestling, as well as in several other elite tournaments. And according to the ONE heavyweight champion, he had a “run-in” with the former UFC light heavyweight champion prior to fighting.
“I had a bit of a run-in with [Jones] actually, prior to even getting into this sport too. But it is what it is.”
Singh was asked about the run-in with Jones, and he declined to give any more of the story away: “We’ll save that for another time. If we get closer to a fight. I will let that loose at that time.”
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