Arjan Bhullar back to represent his country once more: “India has their hero”

Arjan Bhullar plans to do a victory tour in India if he emerges victorious against Anatoly Malykhin.

On June 23, Bhullar will have a career-defining moment at ONE Friday Fights 22 inside the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. After over two years of being sidelined, ‘Singh’ returns to action with plans to regain the undisputed world champion status in the ONE heavyweight division.

Standing in Bhullar’s way is Malykhin, the undefeated interim title-holder who has been disrespecting him for months. During an interview with South China Morning Post, ‘Singh’ had this to say about representing India and potentially taking out the interim heavyweight champion:

“Absolutely. India has their hero. I'm coming back. I'm the undisputed champion of this division and of this promotion. And yeah, absolutely. I would do a nice tour after.”

Arjan Bhullar made his ONE Championship in October 2019, defeating Mauro Cerilli by unanimous decision. Nineteen months later, Bhullar etched his name into ONE Championship history books by defeating Brandon Vera for the ONE heavyweight world title.

Meanwhile, Anatoly Malykhin looks to further prove that he’s one of the best heavyweights on the planet. In February 2022, ‘Sladkiy’ took out Kirill Grishenko by a second-round knockout to become the interim world champion. Ten months later, he extended his professional MMA record to 11-0 by knocking out Reinier de Ridder for the ONE light heavyweight world championship.

Arjan Bhullar vs. Anatoly Malykhin will headline the first part of ONE Friday Fights 22, which goes down on Friday morning for U.S. viewers. The event can be watched live and for free on YouTube by North American viewers.