Anatoly Malykhin says he fought with an injury against Arjan Bhullar: “I won with one leg”

Russian juggernaut Anatoly Malykhin was impressive in his annihilation of former ONE heavyweight world champion Arjan Bhullar last week, winning despite nursing a leg injury.

‘Sladkiy', who previously held the ONE interim heavyweight title, became the undisputed division king by dominating ‘Singh’ en route to a third-round technical knockout (punches) in their long-awaited unification bout at ONE Friday Fights 22 on June 23 in Bangkok.

Anatoly Malykhin displayed his trademark power throughout, landing telling blows to the head and body of the Indian-Canadian fighter. The pounding eventually took a toll on Arjan Bhullar when the fight went to the mat.

The former champion tried desperately to survive the pressure being put on him, but Anatoly Malykhin did not relent on punching his downed opponent, forcing the referee to eventually call a stop to the fight at the 2:42 mark of the third canto.

In an interview with the South China Morning Post after his latest title conquest, Anatoly Malykhin shared he was not at a 100 percent when he took on Arjan Bhullar and that he went straight to the hospital following the fight.

The 35-year-old Russian said:

“One month before the fight I already had a pinched nerve [in my leg]. I was worried about it. [During] the fight I was worried and it was disturbing me again. After checking with an X-ray I’m ready again. I won with one leg.”

Check out the interview below:

By defeating Arjan Bhullar in their heavyweight unification bout, Malykhin became a bona-fide two-division ONE world champion, holding as well the ONE light heavyweight world title.

He also extended his undefeated professional mixed martial arts record to 13-0, five in ONE Championship. All of his victories to date have come by way of finishes.

Arjan Bhullar, meanwhile, failed in his first defense of the title he won in May 2021.

Replay of ONE Friday Fights 22 is available on YouTube.