Anatoly Malykhin translates the gym work to the Circle

Reigning ONE light-heavyweight and interim heavyweight world champion Anatoly Malykhin is gearing up to return to action very soon. ONE Championship's resident boogeyman of the heavier weight classes is chomping at the bit to finally face his rival Arjan 'Singh' Bhullar at ONE Fight Night 12.

After a couple of instances of cancellations and delays, 'Sladkiy' will finally get to face the reigning ONE heavyweight world champion with the intention of unifying the belts on July 14.

Ahead of their impending clash at the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, Anatoly Malykhin was featured in a short video by ONE Championship.

The video was posted on Instragram:

"From the gym to the finish 💯 What’s your tried-and-true technique? 🤔 @anmalykhin"

With an impressive 100% finishing rate and a 6-fight knockout streak, it's safe to say that the undefeated Russian's go-to move is to slam his fists on your face. Malykhin, a former freestyle wrestler, has fallen in love with his powerful hands inside the Circle. We don't blame him since all of his ONE Championship wins have come by way of the knockout. Just look at how brutally he knocked Amir Aliakbari out in the clip.

Against Bhullar, however, 'Sladkiy' may have to dig deeper into his bag of tricks as the Indian-Canadian world champion is one of the most well-rounded heavyweights in MMA history. Bhullar, much like Anatoly Malykhin, has a strong wrestling background but wouldn't shy away from toe-to-toe wars on the feet. He is, however, a master at mixing things up inside the Circle.

The two were initially scheduled to fight in a unification bout at ONE 161 last year. Bhullar, however, had to pull out of the bout, citing an injury. Months and months before the cancellation, the fight has been delayed numerous times due to Bhullar's contract issues. In his absence, Anatoly Malykhin won interim heavyweight gold against Kirill Grishenko.

The two were once again scheduled to lock horns in the main event of ONE Fight Night 8 last March, but were removed from the card due to “broadcaster commitments” according to ONE. Finally, this much-anticipated clash of titans was officially announced to headline ONE Fight Night 12 set for July 14.

ONE Fight Night 12, like all of of ONE Championship’s Amazon cards, is available live and free to all Prime Video subscribers in North America.