Vera set to defend ONE heavyweight title vs Bhullar


arjan bhullar brandon vera
Indian wrestler Arjan Bhulla and ONE heavyweight champion Brandon Vera. (ONE Championship)

Reigning ONE Championship heavyweight king Brandon Vera is set to return to mixed martial action and defend his belt against Indian opponent Arjan Bhullar in ONE: Dangal on May 15.

Vera will come back to the Circle after more than a year of hiatus since focusing on family time amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Filipino-American champion owns a 16-8 record with his recent loss coming from former two-division world champion Aung La N Sang last October 2019.

Vera was holed up at Sanford MMA in Florida with ONE Championship stars Aung La and Martin Nguyen for his comeback preparation.

Against Bhullar, Vera will face an Olympian wrestler and a former UFC fighter who holds a 10-1 MMA slate.

Bhullar, a Canadian of Indian descent, had a successful promotional debut after beating Mauro Cerilli in October 2019.

Vera, 43, was supposed to square off with Bhullar, 34, in May last year at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City but the COVID-19 pandemic put the sporting world at a standstill.

READ: Indian wrestler Bhullar determined to take down heavyweight champ Vera

Should Bhullar win, he could become the first MMA champion of India.

With the venue yet to be announced, ONE: Dangal will showcase the best ONE Championship talents from India including atomweight women's rising star Ritu Phogat against Bi Nguyen of Vietnam.