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Mixed Martial Arts

Brandon Vera’s five-year reign as world champ ends on ONE: Dangal


There’s a new king in the ONE Championship heavyweight division.

Arjan “Singh” Bhullar turned ONE: Dangal into his personal coronation ceremony after stopping ONE Heavyweight World Champion Brandon “The Truth” Vera, Saturday evening.

Bhullar electrified the Singapore Indoor Stadium with top-notch striking and heavy ground and pound in the second round (4:27) to become the first-ever Indian mixed martial arts world champion.

The first round started in Vera’s territory, as the Filipino-American stayed aggressive on the feet, taking center Circle and making his presence felt with lumping leg kicks and heavy hands.

That all changed when Bhullar started to find his rhythm.

The 34-year-old Indian-Canadian repeatedly tagged Vera with clean shots on the feet while evading Vera’s counters. With each minute that passed, Bhullar’s confidence grew – and that carried over into the second round.

It was there where Bhullar took over.

The American Kickboxing Academy star quickly made his presence felt, as he landed a clean overhand right that startled Vera just a minute and five seconds into the round.

From that point on, Vera had no answers to the offense of “Singh,” as the latter stayed one step ahead in the striking department.

The finish came when Bhullar landed a pinpoint body shot, resulting in Vera crumbling to the canvas and Bhullar following with strikes.

With Vera in the fetal position, Bhullar continued to pounce, and with no response from the erstwhile World Champion, the referee had no choice but to stop the contest in favor of the now 11-1 Bhullar.

Vera was the first-ever ONE Heavyweight World Champion, winning the belt back on December 11, 2015 during Spirit of Champions against Paul Cheng.

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In a reign that lasted for 1,982 days, Vera defended the crown twice, defeating Hideki Sekine and Mauro Cerilli.

With Vera’s loss that dropped him to 16-9 (1NC), the Philippines is left with ONE Strawweight World Champion Joshua “The Passion” Pacio as its only remaining World Title holder.

Catch all the ONE Championship action by downloading the ONE Super App

Read More From ONE Championship: 

Vera Says Fatherhood Revealed His Soft Side: ‘I Get To Be Silly’

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