Arjan Bhullar stepped onto the biggest stage in the mixed martial arts world and excelled in a big way on Saturday.
The UFV Cascades wrestling coach made his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut in Edmonton, defeating Brazil’s Luis Henrique via unanimous decision. All three judges scored the fight 29-28 in Bhullar’s favour.
After a first round that saw Bhullar open up a cut over Henrique’s right eye and outstrike his opponent 15-8, he really poured it on in the second.
Bhullar scored a spectacular takedown in the middle of round two, and also knocked Henrique down with a right hand strike. He also maintained ground control on Henrique for the later stages of the round. Bhullar scored 29 strikes to Henrique’s 11.
HUGE right hand by @TheOne_ASB drops Henrique, then follows it up with the big takedown! #UFC215 pic.twitter.com/5dMaMtZctF
— #UFC215 (@ufc) September 9, 2017
Round three saw Henrique battle back and control much of the round. He outpunched Bhullar 35-16, but it wasn’t enough in the judge’s eyes.
Bhullar now has a perfect record of seven wins and no losses in MMA competition. The Richmond native is set to return behind the bench of the Cascades wrestling program later this year.
"Over 1 billion strong. We're coming!" @TheOne_ASB puts on for 🇮🇳 India and puts the heavyweight division on notice! #UFC215 pic.twitter.com/dbNLozMUrJ
— #UFC215 (@ufc) September 9, 2017
For more on this story, read Wednesday’s print edition of the Abbotsford News.
