Bhullar ends Vera’s five-year heavyweight dominance in ONE via TKO

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

 

After five long years, ONE Fighting Championship had a new heavyweight champion.

Indian wrestler and challenger Arjan “Singh” Bhullar knocked out Brandon “The Truth” Vera in just two rounds during the ONE: Dangal main event.

It was the first time Vera fell to the canvass after his five-year reign in ONE. Bhullar was able to dictate the pace of the match that made it difficult for the Filipino to get into his striking game.

However, Vera did a decent job of landing solid jabs and hooks in the first round but Bhullar surprisingly mixed things up and combined his striking and grappling to efficiency.

The Indian mixed martial artist began connecting with his right hand straights and mixed his combos with unexpected takedowns.

Vera would lose control of the fight three minutes into the second round as he struggled to counter against Bhullar’s ground and stand-up game.

Bhullar exploited Vera’s defense which ultimately led to the match-clinching takedown.

As soon as Bhullar had Vera on the mat, the challenger unleashed massive hammer punches that forced the referee to call the match in the second round.