ONE: Dangal Results & Recap

ONE: Dangal Results & Recap

ONE Championship returned to the airwaves on May 15th with ONE: Dangal, an event that was filmed on April 28th at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, the same night as ONE on TNT IV.

ONE: Dangal, as the name suggested, was a showcase for Indian MMA talent with four fighters on the five-fight card hailing from India. It was, however, a mixed night in the end.

In the headliner, Arjan Bhullar (11-1) became the first Indian MMA champion, stopping longtime ONE heavyweight titleholder Brandon ‘The Truth’ Vera (16-9, 1NC) in a back-and-forth brawl.

After a competitive first round, the second was all Bhullar. The Canadian-born challenger dropped wobbled Vera with a hard right hand, quickly dragging him to the canvas. From there it was a prolonged ground and pound assault, the referee eventually stepping in to save the champion from further damage.

Vera made an unsuccessful attempt at becoming a two-weight world champion, losing by TKO to light heavyweight champion Aung La Nsang in his last bout back in 2019. Now the 43-year-old will have to work his way back to title contention, having lost the ONE Heavyweight Title that he has held since 2015.

Bhullar is now 2-0 in his ONE tenure so far, following a four-fight run in the UFC.

In the co-main event, rising superstar Tawanchai PK Saenchai Muaythaigym (125-30-2) put on an absolute Muay Thai clinic against Sean Clancy (44-18-1). The baby-faced Thai dropped his foe in the first round, continuing the assault before finally putting the tough Irishman away with a violent head kick in the third.

Also on the card, Vietnam’s Bi Nguyen (6-6) threw a spanner into ONE’s plans for the upcoming Atomweight Grand Prix, scoring an upset split decision win over a Grand Prix contestant, previously undefeated Ritu Phogat (4-1).

In a competitive, back-and-forth affair, Nguyen used movement and her fast hands to keep the Indian wrestling superstar at bay, while Phogat attempted to close the distance and land takedowns.

In the end, Nguyen managed to fight off enough takedowns and do enough damage, taking a razor-thin split decision, snapping a three-fight losing streak in the process.

ONE Championship may now have a decision to make with the Atomweight Grand Prix opener only 30 days away, do they forge ahead with Phogat in the field? Or has Nguyen earned the right to take her opponent’s place? While there has been no suggestion that a place in the Grand Prix was on the line, Phogat’s loss is a blow to her tournament credentials.

The card was rounded out by two catchweight MMA contests, with Japan’s Ayaka Miura hitting a rare scarf hold Americana submission in her win over Brazil’s Rayane Bastos, while another Canadian-born Indian was in the win column as Gurdashan Mangat defeated fellow Indian Roshan Mainam by unanimous decision.

ONE: Dangal Full Results:

ONE Heavyweight MMA Title: Arjan Bhullar (India) defeated Brandon Vera (Philippines) (C) by R2 TKO (strikes)

Bantamweight Muay Thai: Tawanchai PK Saenchai Muaythaigym (Thailand) defeated Sean Clancy (Ireland) by R3 knockout (head kick)

Women’s atomweight MMA: Bi Nguyen (Vietnam) defeated Ritu Phogat (India) by split decision

Women’s catchweight (58.3kg) MMA: Ayaka Miura (Japan) defeated Rayane Bastos (Brazil) by R1 submission (scarf hold Americana)

Catchweight (65kg) MMA: Gurdarshan Mangat (India/Canada) defeated Roshan Mainam (India) by unanimous decision