Anatoly Malykhin fully charged for world title fight against Arjan Bhullar

Anatoly Malykhin has provided a brief update about the preparations for his upcoming heavyweight unification world title fight.

In February 2022, Malykhin defeated Kirill Grishenko to become the ONE interim heavyweight world champion. Since then, he’s had two unification bouts canceled against Arjan Bhullar, leading to the division being somewhat stalled without a clear world champion.

On June 23, Anatoly Malykhin and Arjan Bhullar will hopefully meet in the main event of ONE Friday Fights 22: Bhullar vs. Malykhin and decide once and for all the undisputed ONE heavyweight world champion. ‘Sladkiy’ recently showcased his training camp in an Instagram post translated from Russian:

“We continue to prepare for the title fight in ONE Championship together with my team! The most difficult days are ahead, but I am charged!”

After defeating Kirill Grishenko, Anatoly Malykhin added another world title to his collection. In December 2022, the Russian dethroned Reinier de Ridder with a shocking first-round knockout for the ONE light heavyweight world championship. He now hopes to become a two-division undisputed world champion before defending his light heavyweight throne.

Since signing with ONE in 2019, Arjan Bhullar defeated Mauro Cerilli in his debut and Brandon Vera for the ONE heavyweight world title in May 2021. Since then, ‘Singh’ has been sidelined with injuries and contract negotiations, leading to a longer layoff than most people would’ve expected.

Luckily, Bhullar’s first world title defense is scheduled for June 23. The highly-anticipated heavyweight matchup goes down inside the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

In the co-main event of ONE Friday Fights 22, Sam-A Gaiyanghadao looks to claim the ONE interim strawweight Muay Thai world championship in a rematch against Prajanchai PK Saenchai.