Indian MMA fans are in for a treat as the country’s favourite heavyweight fighter, Arjan Bhullar, will take on Iranian Amir Aliakbari at ONE 166: Qatar on Friday, March 1, in the Lusail Sports Arena. Bhullar has been one of the most in-demand fighters in ONE Championship after defeating Brandon "The Truth" Vera at ONE: DANGAL in 2021.
After this title win, injuries and other setbacks kept Bhullar out of action when Anatoly Malykhin won the ONE Interim Heavyweight MMA World Title in 2022. Earlier. this year, Malykhin defeated Bhullar via TKO to unify the crown and be the undisputed champ at ONE Friday Fights 22.
After this setback, Arjan Bhullar spoke with SportsTiger as he gets ready to face Amir Aliakbari. Bhullar delved into his preparation for ONE 166: Qatar and gave his insights on the rise of influencer fights, MMA’s future in the Olympics, his love for cricket and more.
Here’s SportsTiger’s exclusive interview with Arjan Bhullar.
What’s the mood in the camp ahead of your upcoming fight against Amir Aliakbari at ONE 166: Qatar?
Yeah, we were actually supposed to fight on December 1st, so I was already in training camp and we had to sign the contract, and everything, but the event was cancelled one month before, and now I'm just happy that we have new date and I'm excited to go to Qatar and see what the country is all about, but in terms of my preparation, it's the holiday season in North America right now, Christmas around the corner, all of that, so it's not crazy training right now in terms of training camp, but as soon as January 2nd rolls around, we'll be in intense training again.
What has been your preparation after the loss against Anatoly Malykhin and have there been specific areas that you have worked on since?
I'm always looking to improve, You're never satisfied and are always evolving, trying to improve every day, a little bit better in different areas. I have changed one of my training locations from San Jose to Las Vegas at Xtreme Couture MMA with Francis Ngannou, Sean Strickland and a great group of guys here. So there is that.
“But in terms of, you know, improving, that's always the case. And I knew, you know, win or lose the last fight. I knew I would be defending against Amir Aliakbari anyway, so I knew I would see them. It's not something that's kind of come out of nowhere. I knew we were going to have to see each other eventually.”
What is your preparation for a seasoned fighter like Aliakbari, someone from a wrestling background?
He has a similar background, he's a Greco-Roman wrestler and won a world championship for Iran, then was banned for doping. That's where we're different, you know, he's different in terms of character. But he's Greco-Roman and I am freestyle. So if you look at his fights, we've studied him. You know, he's a great athlete. He's big, strong, very emotional. He knows how to win, and has made adjustments now after losing. So all the things you're supposed to do, he's doing.
But we feel that I'm better, you know, he uses he doesn't use Greco-Roman to win. He uses freestyle, he shoots on the legs and tries to take someone down that way. So we feel we're better there. We're better with the striking as well. He's been knocked out a couple of times, you know, there are holes in his game, which we feel we are very prepared to take advantage of.
Do you have a message for Amir Aliakbari?
He's done some talking in the past and now he has to, he has to come see me and we're gonna see each other. March first in the cage. No more talk time for action and he's been knocked up multiple times. And now he's trying to be a wrestler freestyle wrestler. I'm gonna beat them both weights and he better be ready to go.
You have talked about the prospect of facing Francis Ngannou; do you still wish to take on the Predator? Further with his recent exploits in the boxing ring can we see Arjan Bhullar in the squared circle?
“It's always the case, you know, with Francis over at the PFL, though, that's um as athletes, yes. But because our promotions are different, they'll never work together. U so that fight won't happen unless one of us is a free agent and comes to the other person's company I would love to box. I would love to be in a squared circle and pro wrestling. But again I have a contract with one and they won't allow me to do anything but fight for them. And while my contract is still happening.”
Alongside promotions like One Championship, influencer bouts have risen and made massive waves in the Fight space. How do you analyse this ever-growing trend with someone like Jake Paul getting recognised as a premier boxer?
“ It's good. It's good, you know, and he's beating legitimate people. You know, people with much more experience than him. And he's got a new generation of fans that tune in follow him and whatever he does. And that's the name of the game is Sports Entertainment. And he's the king of both. Right now, it's great.”
Can MMA ever be part of the Olympics?
“Won't happen, won't happen. Why would people fight for free when they can fight for money? It makes no sense and injuries you get cuts, you get that type of stuff. It's difficult in the Olympics, you have a tournament style, and we have to do multiple matches. Yeah, and I don't think you can do this in this sport. It's a unique sport. U you can only do one and then you need a break. You can recover so I don't think it's the it's doable. The way currently MMA is unless to change the rules and shift things for the Olympics. The way their current rules are. I don't see it happening.”
Looking at your Instagram you seem to be a massive cricket fan, what has been your relation with the sport and who are your favourite cricketers and IPL team?
I got more involved with cricket now with MMA and our Star Sports connection. Punjab Kings are my team. We spent a lot of time together. I got to know these guys personally you know, Shikhar Dhawan, Arshdeep Singh and Harpreet Brar and all these guys it was a good time and I'm good to see.
Being a Punjab Kings fan, what was your reaction to the recent IPL auction? Further, who would be the highest-paid fighter if the One Championship had an auction?
I'm happy to see that with the recent auction, they were able to keep some of these centrepieces with the team moving forward. So I hope to come back out there again soon and meet my guys and my team and see them do well in the upcoming season. Talking about who would be the highest-paid fighter if the One Championship had an auction, Arjan said, “You're looking at the man you're looking at it over a billion fans in India, only one man can do it.”
Could you talk about one of the videos from Instagram where you met Shikhar Dhawan and Mika Singh from your visit to India during the IPL?
Yeah, it was just good intimate fun. you know it was Shikhar, Me, Mika and a bunch of us in the room enjoying some good food, music and bonding. It was private time, no cameras, nothing like that and just everyone mellow. And you know, being all-natural, no pressure. And it was good. It was good to get to know each other and have a good time.
With fighters like Anshul Jubli, Puja Tomar, and Ritu Phogat making the rounds, how do you see the development of MMA talent in India?
I think the females are ahead of the males. We need more of the wrestlers and maybe even boxers at the high level to come over that hasn't happened yet and I think then the males will catch up. It'll be a bit different in terms of competition on the men's side than the women's and I think we need that to happen. The wrestlers dominate a lot more on the men's side but you know the talent is coming up and the training situation is getting better.
What is your message to the fans from India about your upcoming fight?
Just tune in. Any Indian fans on the ground in Qatar, come to the event. I'd love to connect with you. We have a good community out there and anyone else tuning in support. On March 1, we're gonna take care of this Iranian and show that we're at a different level in terms of motivation and skill set and more about this connection with India. Talking about coming to India, Bhullar said, “Yeah, everything. If everything goes well with this fight, the plan is to come directly to India after.”
Rapid Fire questions
Cricket or NBA - sport other than MMA: NBA
Pick One: Kawahi Leonard's buzzer-beater against Philadelphia 76ers or Virat Kohli's six vs Pakistan in T20 World Cup: Virat Kohli
One move you would like to steal from any other fighter: Front kick to the face from Anderson Silva.
Dream fight card:
Mike Tyson and Tyson Fury
MMA fight between John Jones and Arjan Bhullar
Grappling match - Garry Tonon and Georges St-Pierre.
Dream opponent: Jon Jones
An athlete from the following sports who could been an incredible MMA fighter
Cricket - Virat Kohli
Football - Zlatan Ibrahimovich
Basketball - LeBron James
After MMA, what you would prefer - Boxing or Pro wrestling: Pro wrestling
Your favourite moment from your career: Winning the World title