Canada’s prime minister Justin Trudeau, 49, took to Twitter on May 21, 2021 to congratulate Indian-Canadian mixed martial artist Arjan Singh Bhullar, 35. The latter is the first ever MMA world champion of South Asian descent.

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Born to Indian parents in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, Bhullar started wrestling when he was a little boy. His father moved from India to Canada at a young age and wrestled in high school.

Bhullar was named the Wrestler of the Year of Canada in 2009 and he represented the country at the London Summer Olympics in 2012. As an MMA fighter, he has been competing professionally since 2014.

From 2017 to 2019, Bhullar competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He had 3 wins and 1 loss in the American MMA promotion.

After leaving the UFC, Bhullar made his ONE Championship debut at “ONE: Century – Part 2” on October 13, 2019 in Japan. He defeated Mauro “The Hammer” Cerilli, 38, of Italy via unanimous decision.

Fighting out of India by way of Canada, Bhullar now holds a professional MMA record of 11 wins and 1 loss. His second ONE Championship fight was at “ONE: Dangal” at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore on May 15, 2021.

In the main event of the evening, Bhullar challenged then reigning ONE Heavyweight World Champion Brandon “The Truth” Vera, 43, of the Philippines. The Indian-Canadian challenger knocked out the Filipino-American defending champion after 4 minutes and 27 seconds in the second round.

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ONE Championship was founded on July 14, 2011. Among its rivals as the top MMA promotions in the world are the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Bellator MMA and Professional Fighters League.

The reigning strawweight champion of ONE Championship is Joshua “The Passion” Pacio, 25, of Baguio City, Philippines. He trains out of Team Lakay in La Trinidad, Benguet, Philippines.

Pacio has been competing in ONE Championship since 2016. He currently holds a professional MMA record of 19 wins and 3 losses.