Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida unsure if Arjan Bhullar will ever really fight Anatoly Malykhin

Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida isn’t the only one with his doubts about the upcoming heavyweight world championship fight.

Fans have waited a long time to see Arjan Bhullar and Anatoly Malykhin unify the heavyweight titles and leave the division with one champion. After years of waiting for the return of heavyweight king Arjan Bhullar, he is scheduled to face Russian interim titleholder Malykhin at ONE Fight Night 8 on Prime Video.

For Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida, it means he can finally progress in the division. The Brazilian grappling specialist has produced four wins inside the circle since transitioning to MMA, but has found himself on the sidelines as he waits for his division to have a clear world champion who he can challenge.

In an interview with SCMP MMA, however, he expressed his doubts over whether this fight will ever happen:

“I don’t know. It has been postponed so many times. If I have to bet money, I wouldn’t bet money. But I hope it happens for sure.”

Watch the full interview below:

As Almeida points out, this is not the first time that these two have been scheduled to collide. After their fight in September was postponed, Anatoly Malykhin went on to defeat Reinier de Ridder at light heavyweight to become a two-division champion.

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‘Buchecha’ praises Anatoly Malykhin but says his time is almost up as heavyweight king

Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida has got his sights firmly set on the heavyweight world championship, whether that means facing Arjan Bhullar or Anatoly Malykhin.

After making it clear that he doesn’t believe Bhullar will return to unify the heavyweight titles, that leaves the undefeated Russian as his potential future opponent.

Both Malykhin and Almeida have been the two standouts in the division since Arjan Bhullar won the world championship, since which he's remained inactive. Between Almeida’s elite level grappling and Malykhin’s devastating striking, no opponent has been able to really test them as of yet.

Anatoly Malykhin, now a two-division world champion after defeating Reinier de Ridder at light heavyweight, was named the 2022 ONE Championship Fighter of the Year. However, Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida is ready to end his incredible run, even if he respects what he has accomplished thus far.

In an interview with MMA Hoje, the 17-time BJJ world champion said:

“He’s good in wrestling and very good boxing. Heavy hands, but we didn’t see his jiu-jitsu yet. No one really put his jiu-jitsu to the test yet. But it is what it is. You could be the best in the world. His clock is ticking, I’ll always trust my jiu-jitsu 100 percent.”

Catch the interview below: