Fabricio Andrade on Arjan Bhullar "ducking" Anatoly Malykhin

Top bantamweight contender Fabricio Andrade believes that the reason Arjan Bhullar continues to delay his return is because he’s afraid of Anatoly Malykhin.

The intense war of words between heavyweight king Arjan Bhullar and double-world champion Anatoly Malykhin has become a hot topic of discussion within the ONE community.

It’s a well-known fact that the Russian superstar has been waiting far too long to unify his belt, and while other world champions would have answered his callout by now, Arjan Bhullar has been all talk but no show.

At the end of the day, it’s become obvious to a lot of people, including CEO Chatri Sityodtong and bantamweight world title challenger Fabricio Andrade, that Bhullar is too scared to fight Malykhin.

The Brazilian superstar told ONE Championship:

“This is a fact. I've never seen a champion ducking so far from a challenger. The actions he has been taking only confirm that he is afraid to face Anatoly. He knows that the chances of winning are slim.”

Anatoly Malykhin recently claimed his second world title at ONE on Prime Video 5. In just one round, Malykhin put three divisions on notice when he delivered an obliterating TKO finish against Reinier de Ridder to claim light heavyweight gold.

‘Sladkiy’ is evidently a major threat to all heavyweights and since Bhullar hasn’t fought in the last 578 days (and counting), so there’s a lot of merit to what Andrade said about Bhullar’s chances of winning.

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Fabricio Andrade is open to fighting Stephen Loman next but admits Loman won’t be his toughest fight

If you were to ask Fabricio Andrade where he sees himself in the next two months, the brash Brazilian would probably say he’ll be the “next ONE bantamweight world champion.”

Although he looks forward to capturing the belt, ‘Wonder Boy’ is equally excited for his first world title defense, and next in line would be Filipino rising star Stephen Loman.

The Team Lakay representative recently defeated former ONE bantamweight world champion, Bibiano Fernandes, to earn a shot at the world title. However, according to Andrade, it takes more than beating a veteran to say that you’re ready for someone like him.

He told Sportskeeda:

“I don’t think he’s the toughest opponent in the division, I don’t think he’s shown anything I haven’t seen before, but he’s next in line. I’ll be very happy to knock him out too.”

Watch Lineker vs. Andrade II for free with a Prime Video subscription on Friday, February 10.