"See the best BJJ guy in the world lose to an ordinary freestyle wrestler" - Anatoly Malykhin eyes Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida

ONE Championship interim heavyweight champion Anatoly Malykhin appears to have his sights set on Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida.

Following Almeida's impressive win over Simon Carson at ONE 158, Malykhin teased a potential showdown when talking to ONE, saying:

"I think fans would be interested interested to see the best BJJ guy in the world lose to an ordinary freestyle wrestler [in MMA]."

ONE Championship posted a graphic on Instagram featuring the two heavyweights, asking fans if that's the fight they want to see.

"ONE Interim Heavyweight World Champion Anatoly Malykhin has his eye on BJJ giant Buchecha. Who wants to see it?"

With his third straight first-round finish in the ONE circle, 'Buchecha' has put himself firmly in conversation for title contention.

Almeida appears to be looking for a quick turnaround after walking through Carson at ONE 158, but nothing has been made official. A matchup with friend and fellow undefeated heavyweight Odie Delaney is a possibility, but it could be just a matter of time before 'Buchecha' finds himself with an opportunity to bring home ONE Championship gold.

The question is, who will be standing across from him when that time comes?

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Anatoly Malykhin has unfinished business with Arjan Bhullar

Before Anatoly Malykhin can look ahead to a fight with Marcus Almeida, he has some business with ONE heavyweight champion Arjan Bhullar.

In May 2021, Bhullar captured the ONE heavyweight title, defeating former champion Brandon Vera via second-round knockout. Following his win, Bhullar remained on the sidelines while working out a new contract with ONE Championship.

To keep the heavyweight division moving, ONE implemented an interim championship to be awarded to the winner of Anatoly Malykhin vs. Kirill Grishenko in February. Malykhin dispatched his opponent with a second-round knockout to capture the interim gold.

Two months later, Bhullar signed a new deal with ONE Championship. In an interview with South China Morning Post, Bhullar stated that he was happy with the new deal and ready to get back into the ONE circle.

“It’s been too long, time to remind some people who the king of the jungle is. Hoping the company gets my date fixed ASAP and maybe you’ll be able to catch me on Amazon Prime.”

While nothing has been officially announced, it appears to be just a matter of time until the title unification bout between Malykhin and Bhullar is made official.