Anatoly Malykhin predicts third-round finish against Arjan Bhullar, says he'll "punch his belly"

Anatoly Malykhin has given a bold prediction ahead of his mooted ONE heavyweight world title unification bout against Arjan Bhullar.

The Russian has been in phenomenal form since arriving in ONE Championship last year. Remarkably, he's finished every man who's ever stood across from him and his three straight stoppage wins in the circle have extended his unblemished record to 11-0.

His last outing was a knockout victory against Kirill Grishenko, which sealed him the ONE interim heavyweight gold.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA, the Tiger Muay Thai fighter explained how he intends to put away Bhullar when their inevitable collision arrives.

"He won't be able to fight all the five rounds. This will be maximum second or third round. I believe in the third round I will finish him. And the way I will finish him, I'm not even going to touch his face, I will just punch his belly and crush his belly."

Catch our full interview with Malykhin below:

Knocking out 'Singh' would be a unique accomplishment. The Canadian-Indian MMA veteran has only lost one fight in his pro MMA career and has never been knocked out.

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Another bonus for Anatoly Malykhin?

ONE Championship has been generous in handing out big bonuses over the past year and Anatoly Malykhin has been one of the biggest beneficiaries. The 34 year-old arrived in the promotion with a fiersome reputation and backed it up immediately with a ground-and-pound victory in the first round against Alexandre Machado.

In his next outing, the 6-foot star flatlined Amir Aliakbari, again in the very first round. In the Grishenko fight, he arguably impressed the most and was rewarded handsomely. As well as walking away with the interim world title, Malykhin was awarded $100k USD.

Bhullar has also shown his pedigree since arriving in the organization. The Canadian-Indian stopped longtime heavyweight king Brandon Vera in the second round last year and is riding a four-fight winning streak.

The former Olympian is also a huge star. If Malykhin can follow up his prediction and put away the champ inside three rounds, he could well be in for another big windfall.