'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD/2wCEAAMDAwMDAwQEBAQFBQUFBQcHBgYHBwsICQgJCAsRCwwLCwwLEQ8SDw4PEg8bFRMTFRsfGhkaHyYiIiYwLTA+PlQBAwMDAwMDBAQEBAUFBQUFBwcGBgcHCwgJCAkICxELDAsLDAsRDxIPDg8SDxsVExMVGx8aGRofJiIiJjAtMD4+VP/AABEIAAYACgMBIgACEQEDEQH/xABiAAEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABQgQAAIBBAICAwAAAAAAAAAAAAECAwAEBRESEwYUISIyAQEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEBREAAgIDAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQIDBAARQSEi/9oADAMBAAIRAxEAPwDPN7DgbWPFRwY10IvpbWBnmWTqfgxJUcF2Gb7Etuplx4BgPYl4XeQiXsbUalWVBv8AILfJApShJasRKhWQgsp33uX0p1p0YSRKwWTzmvkZ/9k='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
ONE Championship recently announced that Arjan Bhullar is set to take on interim heavyweight titleholder Anatoly ‘Sladkiy’ Malykhin in a unification bout in March. The battle for the undisputed ONE heavyweight world title between Bhullar and Malykhin will finally take place at ONE Fight Night 8 on March 24.
It will mark Bhullar's return to action after suffering an arm injury last year that forced him to pull out of the scheduled world title clash with Malykhin in September.
A former Olympic wrestler, Indo-Canadian mixed martial arts fighter Arjan Bhullar ascended to the top of ONE’s heavyweight division by defeating former world champion Brandon Vera in April 2021 in a second-round technical knockout.
He was preparing to make his first world title defense in 2022 against Malykhin before the arm injury put the clash on the backburner.
Malykhin, for his part, looks to extend his unbeaten run in ONE Championship, which has seen him claim not only the interim heavyweight world title last February but also the light heavyweight gold with a win over erstwhile reigning world champion Reinier de Ridder in December at ONE on Prime Video 5 in Manila. The Russian juggernaut has been unstoppable since debuting in ONE in March two years ago.
All four of his victories to date have come by way of knockouts. The last two, which came against Kirill Grishenko and de Ridder, came not only with a world title but also double performance bonuses for a total of US $200,000 in incentives.
ONE Fight Night 8 will be live and free for North American fans with an active Amazon Prime subscription.
“Give me the scariest one first” - Arjan Bhullar says he’s ready to return to the ONE circle
Sidelined by an arm injury last year, reigning ONE heavyweight world champion Arjan Bhullar said he is ready for his return against all comers.
ONE interim heavyweight world champion and newly-crowned light heavyweight king Anatoly Malykhin has long called for Arjan Bhullar to fight him and is certainly eager to unify the heavyweight gold.
Meanwhile, heavyweight contender Amir Aliakbari scored a massive victory in the circle this past December, sending former ONE heavyweight world champion Brandon Vera into retirement with a TKO win. He immediately called out ‘Singh’ for a world title fight.
In an Instagram post, Arjan Bhullar addressed both contenders, saying:
“Great weekend of fights @onechampionship I've been cleared since November 7th. 2 heavyweights called me out this weekend. Give me the 'scariest' one first🙏🏾”
ONE Championship recently announced that it would be Malykhin who will face offagainsth Bhullar in a unification bout for the heavyweight world title at ONE Fight Night 8 on March 24. Arjan Bhullar became ONE heavyweight champ in April 2021 at ONE: Dangal in Singapore, taking the world title from former titleholder Brandon Vera.
