Canada’s Arjan Bhullar will meet former title challenger Mauro Cerilli at ONE Championship: Dawn of Heroes in August.
Now former-UFC heavyweight Arjan Bhullar will meet Italy’s Mauro Cerilli in his ONE Championship debut. Bhullar, whose signing with the Asian MMA promotion became big news last week, will meet Cerilli at Dawn of Heroes in Manilia, Philippines next month. ONE officials announced the booking via their official website.
Bhullar (9-1) finished his UFC tenue at 3-1, and left the company on a two fight winning streak. Most recently, he got the better of fellow prospect Juan Adams at UFC Ottawa in May. All three of Bhullar’s wins came via decision, perhaps the lone knock against the Indian-Canadian, who won gold for Canada at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
However, Bhullar could be the key to ONE breaking into the Indian market, a mostly untapped resource when it comes to MMA. With a rich history in combat sports and one billion people, Indian is certainly on the radar.
Mauro Cerilli (13-3) challenged Brandon Vera for the ONE heavyweight championship last year at Conquest of Champions, only to be knocked out in just over a minute. He bounced back at Reign of Valor in March, however, earning a TKO of the monstrous Alain Ngalani.
Given the shallowness of the ONE Championship heavyweight division, there’s a good chance the winner of Bhullar vs. Cerilli could be in line for a title shot. However, first, Brandon Vera will face off against Aung La N Sang in an attempt to claim the promotion’s light heavyweight title. That bout takes place this October in Tokyo.
ONE Championship: Dawn of Heroes takes place August 2 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines.
