By:  | March 2, 2024 10:51 am

Arjan Bhullar’s MMA career appears to have come to an ignominious end and he received no sympathy whatsoever from Chatri Sityodtong. The ONE Championship CEO was scathing about the heavyweight’s performance and the effect it will have on his legacy.

Bhullar was disqualified at ONE 166 after refusing to engage with Amir Aliakbari. The Canadian born heavyweight, who has roots in India, received two yellow cards before being handed a red card in the dying seconds of the fight.

At the post fight press conference Chatri made his feelings clear,

“I was deeply disappointed in Arjan, and I think he let down India. India will no longer look at him as a hero.”

Lengthy hiatus

Bhullar held the ONE Championship heavyweight title from 2021 until 2023. His reign was probably prolonged by a lengthy hiatus in which he was involved in a contract dispute with the promotion.

Having finally come to terms on a deal the Olympian lost his title to Anatoly Malykhin at ONE Friday Fights 22. While that bout was one sided there was no suggestion of a lack of effort from Bhullar.

That clearly wasn’t the case at ONE 166 last weekend as the Canadian barely threw a single strike despite repeated warnings from referee Herb Dean.

Yellow cards

Bhullar had already been issued two yellow cards and warned by the referee he risked disqualification. With a minute to go in the fight Herb Dean finally ran out of patience and disqualified the Canadian.

The first two yellow cards would each have resulted in an 10% purse deduction. It isn’t clear how much, if anything, Bhullar would have been entitled to after the disqualification.

In the past ONE Championship has made an effort to promote Bhullar in his parent’s homeland. His fight with Brandon Vera headlined an event which was tailor made for the Indian audience.

So Chatri was clearly upset that Bhullar showed such little interest in fighting. The 37 year old’s career looks to be over and the ONE Championship CEO sounds bery upset.