Arjan Bhullar says he’s a class above Anatoly Malykhin: “There are levels to this game”

They may both hold world titles, but ONE heavyweight world champion Arjan Bhullar told Anatoly Malykhin that he’s practically on a different playing field when it comes to mixed martial arts.

Bhullar and Malykhin, the reigning ONE light heavyweight and interim heavyweight world champion, are set for a titanic world title unification bout for the undisputed ONE heavyweight world championship at ONE Friday Fights 22. The Bangkok card goes down on June 23 at the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium.

Bhullar has seen what Malykhin did during his absence from the circle, and the Indian-Canadian star has had quite an observation about the two-division world champion.

In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Bhullar said:

“Make no mistake, I'm not taking him lightly. But there are levels to this game. He's done all of that. But none of those guys are me, and there are levels to this game. And I'm going to show that on June 23.”

Malykhin has been utterly unstoppable during his march in ONE Championship, going 4-0 with all four wins ending in a knockout. The Russian slugger made his promotional debut in March 2021, knocking out Alexandre Machado in the opening round.

After another first-round KO in his succeeding match against Amir Aliakbari, Malykhin became the ONE interim heavyweight world champion when he knocked out Kirill Grishenko in the second round of their bout in February 2022.

Malykhin then captured the ONE light heavyweight world championship when he bludgeoned Reinier de Ridder in the opening round of their matchup at ONE on Prime Video 5.

Bhullar, however, isn’t that too impressed with Malykhin’s rampage.

‘Singh’ is an exceptional wrestler who can grapple anyone at will, and he plans to use that Greco-Roman wrestling of his to subdue Malykhin’s sometimes maddening approach to matches.

Watch Bhullar's entire interview below: