Arjan Bhullar says nothing he hasn’t seen before in Anatoly Malykhin: “I've been there”

Arjan Bhullar doesn’t expect Anatoly Malykhin to show him anything he hasn’t already seen in his mixed martial arts career.

‘Singh’ will attempt to reassert himself as the one true king of ONE Championship’s heavyweight division this Friday (June 23) as he returns from a two-year-long layoff in the hopes of unifying his title with that of the promotion’s interim heavyweight champion Malykhin.

Arjan Bhullar and Anatoly Malykhin have been trading barbs for more than a year, knowing that a bout between the two behemoths was inevitable. With the contest now less than 24 hours away, things are reaching a boiling point with ‘Singh’ using every opportunity he can find to downplay the skills of his Russian opposition.

Speaking with The South China Moring Post, Bhullar once again scoffed at the danger Malykhin brings, suggesting that the Russian juggernaut won’t show him anything he hasn’t already seen.

“I faced a jiu-jitsu guy, I faced a wrestler, I faced a brawler- all of that before I got to the big leagues. So I've been there,” Bhullar said. “I'm very confident in my preparation. To be quite honest with you, it's going to be intense. It's going to be a lot of fun. And I can't wait.”

In Arjan Bhullar’s absence, Anatoly Malykhin quickly rose to the top of ONE Champioship’s ranks, scoring highlight-reel knockouts against both Kirill Grishenko and Reinier de Ridder to capture the interim heavyweight title and the ONE light heavyweight world championship. Two individual feats, when combined, make him the promotion’s 2022 Fighter of the Year.

He’ll look to get 2023 off to a good start when he attempts to trade in his interim title for undisputed heavyweight gold against one of the most well-rounded fighters in the division.

Fans in North America can catch all the action at ONE Friday Fights 22 live and for free on ONE Championship’s YouTube channel on June 23.