Arjan Bhullar plans to expose untested Anatoly Malykhin: “Fighting reveals who you are”

Arjan Bhullar believes Anatoly Malykhin will be exposed in their heavyweight unification world championship bout.

Bhullar, the ONE heavyweight world champion, and Malykhin, the interim world title holder, had their bout postponed twice over the past year. Although their heavily-anticipated was inevitably going to happen, the extended wait has led to ‘Sladkiy’ continuously insulting ‘Singh.’

On June 23, Bhullar plans to silence his rival by denying him the undisputed world title. During an interview with South China Morning Post, he had this to say about Malykhin:

“Fighting reveals who you are. That's what fighting reveals. And we're going to figure out what he is. He has not shown a championship mettle, as of yet.”

Arjan Bhullar holds a ONE Championship record of 2-0. After defeating Mauro Cerilli and Brandon Vera, Bhullar looks to add Anatoly Malykhin to his resume on Friday. The 37-year-old will have to shake off any potential ring rust, as he hasn’t fought since defeating Vera for the heavyweight world title in May 2021.

Since Bhullar’s last fight, Malykhin has fought four times. The hard-hitting Russian started with two first-round knockouts against Alexandre Machado and Amir Aliakbari, setting up the ONE interim heavyweight world title bout against Kirill Grishenko. ‘Sladkiy’ continued his knockout streak in ONE with a second-round finish against Grishenko, setting up the unification fight against Bhullar.

Malykhin’s opportunity to become the undisputed heavyweight world champion was postponed in September 2022. As a result, the 35-year-old decided to move down and take out Reinier de Ridder for the ONE light heavyweight world championship in December 2022.

Arjan Bhullar vs. Anatoly Malykhin is scheduled for ONE Friday Fights 22, which goes down inside the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. The event can be watched live and for free on YouTube by North American viewers.