‘Buchecha’ thinks Arjan Bhullar’s inactivity was a ‘huge disadvantage’ that led to his downfall

Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida had high hopes for former ONE heavyweight world champion Arjan Bhullar when the Indian superstar went toe-to-toe with Anatoly Malykhin at ONE Friday Fights 22.

An athlete with a humble persona inside and outside the ONE stage, the Brazilian hoped that the then-king would have proved why he was at the peak of the MMA mountain.

However, his hopes of seeing Bhullar put up a fight were completely thrown out of the picture inside the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on June 23.

The kingpin was battered by interim king Anatoly Malykhin from the sound of the bell, coming short on the canvas and in the stand-up department against the Russian’s brilliant offensive work.

Wherever ‘Singh’ decided to escape, Malykhin was there waiting, ready to deliver a message or two to the Indian fighter who had kept him away from becoming the true divisional king.

Speaking on that hotly anticipated world title unification bout, ‘Buchecha’ said Bhullar’s downfall – as many predicted – was due to his lack of game time.

He told ONE Championship:

“Arjan hadn’t fought for a long time, and I think that interfered with his fight pace. Coming back after so long off and fighting for the belt against a champion, who is very active, was a huge disadvantage for Arjan. In the end, Anatoly won, as most expected.”

With a clear target to focus on now in the form of two-division powerhouse Malykhin, ‘Buchecha’ is ready to take another stride to an inevitable heavyweight world title showdown.

The Sao Paolo native meets ‘Reug Reug’ Oumar Kane at ONE Fight Night 13, available to North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription on Friday, August 4.