Arjan Bhullar questions Anatoly Malykhin’s resolve if fight goes the distance

Two-sport ONE world champion Anatoly Malykhin rose to global prominence for his ability to end fights as quickly and decisively as possible.

However, as far as ONE heavyweight world champion Arjan Bhullar is concerned, this same trait would become his downfall once they finally share the ring at ONE Friday Fights 22 on June 23.

Undefeated in 12 MMA career bouts, Malykhin has never met an opponent he couldn’t finish. Moreover, ‘Sladkiy’ has never even gone past the second round, as his fallen foes have usually been knocked out or submitted by that time.

As remarkable as that feat is, Bhullar does not seem impressed. In fact, he questioned if Malykhin’s fight-ending prowess will still be there when he gets out of his comfort zone and reaches the championship rounds.

‘Singh’ even went as far as comparing Malykhin to boxing legend Mike Tyson, whose shortcomings came when he was unable to knock out his opponents early.

He told Nic Atkin of the South China Morning Post in a recent interview:

“Now, he hasn't been past the second round. What does he have past the second round? Mike Tyson never got a knockout past the sixth round. So let's see. Let's see what he can do as it goes deeper.”

Bhullar does not possess Malykhin’s one-quitter-hitter power and has been known to grind out hard-fought unanimous decision wins.

The Indian-Canadian superstar, however, does not see this as something negative. In fact, Bhullar believes he already proved he can win when the fight goes the distance, which will be unfamiliar territory for the interim heavyweight world champion.

We’ll have to wait and see if Bhullar can take Malykhin to deep waters and become the first fighter to take away his undefeated record.

Watch Bhullar's full SCMP MMA interview below: