WATCH: RED card in MMA! Indian fighter Arjan Bhullar gets disqualified by referee in ONE championship fight leaving fans puzzled

Arjan Bhullar's disqualification at ONE 166 raises eyebrows in the MMA community.

WATCH: RED card in MMA! Indian fighter Arjan Bhullar gets disqualified by referee in ONE championship fight leaving fans puzzled

Arjan Bhullar received a red card for inactivity agaisnt Amir Aliakbari (via ONE championship/X)

ONE Championship is renowned for its exciting fights and exquisite talent. However, this is not always the case. Indian MMA fighter Arjan Bhullar competed at ONE 166 in Qatar, and it did not go well for him. He faced Iranian knockout artist Amir Aliakbari in a heavyweight bout. The fight ended in a frustrating disqualification.

ONE 166 was a much-anticipated event. 2- division champion Anatoly Malykhin fought Reinier de Ridder for the middleweight title. Anatoly won the fight and is now a three-division ONE champion. Arjan Bhullar was defensive in round one and hesitated to exchange shots with his opponent. Referee Herb Dean had to warn both fighters to engage more. Aliakbari tried attacking in later rounds. However, Bhullar still refused to engage offensively.

Dean gave Bhullar a second warning. This also came with a 20 percent fine. But it did not make Bhullar more active. Bhullar received a red card with only 45 seconds left. This awarded Aliakbari a DQ victory for Bhullar’s timidity. Aliakbari now has a four-fight winning streak. His last three wins were all knockouts over quality opponents.

Bhullar was the ONE heavyweight champion in 2021 after defeating Brandon Vera via a second-round TKO. He lost the belt to Russian Anatoly Malykhin last June by TKO. The DQ loss is a setback for Bhullar’s hopes of regaining the ONE title. Aliakbari called Bhullar out for his lack of engagement after the bout. Amir Aliakbari may have earned the next title shot himself with this win.

Fight fans reacted to Arjan Bhullar’s disqualification at ONE 166

MMA fans reacted strongly to Indian fighter Arjan Bhullar’s controversial disqualification loss at ONE Championship 166. The decision to disqualify the fighter with just 45 seconds remaining in the fight was debated quite a lot in the MMA communities.

Fight fans reacted to Arjan Bhullar's disqualification at ONE 166
Fight fans reacted to Arjan Bhullar’s disqualification at ONE 166 (via Hindustan Times/Asian MMA)

MMA fans took to social media to showcase their reactions to this decision. Some fight fans used it as fodder for jokes or criticism. Others were outraged at how the fight played out after Bhullar’s previous ONE title reign.  A subset of fans blamed the fighter for being inactive. Here are some of the reactions from fight fans:

https://twitter.com/The_Gabagool_/status/1763581795184882115

The reactions highlighted the passion and engagement MMA fans created from its online fanbase. People are invested not just in past events but also in analyzing future possibilities. MMA offers no shortage of debate thanks to news like Bhullar’s DQ as well as Anatoly Malykhin becoming the three division champion.

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