“I have to give him a chance” - New ONE interim heavyweight world champion Anatoly Malykhin names possible next opponents

With his world title-winning victory at ONE: Bad Blood, newly-crowned ONE interim heavyweight world champion Anatoly Malykhin has set up an inevitable heavyweight unification bout opposite reigning ONE heavyweight world champion Arjan ‘Singh’ Bhullar.

While that fight is certainly imminent, Anatoly Malykhin feels there are other big names who deserve a chance to face him, should Bhullar not yet be ready to step into the Circle with the Russian powerhouse.

In his ONE: Bad Blood post-event interview session with the media, Anatoly Malykhin threw out a couple of names who he thinks deserve a world title shot.

“I think Buchecha deserves [a fight against me]. I have to give him a chance. You know, Bhullar is not the champion. I’m the champion and I’d love to fight Buchecha... Brandon Vera, he has a big name. He was the king of the heavyweight division. He held the belt for a long time. I would be honored to split the cage with him. Big fight!”

Anatoly Malykhin shortlists Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend-turned-MMA fighter Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida and former ONE heavyweight world champion Brandon ‘The Truth’ Vera as two opponents he would love to face in the Circle next.

‘Buchecha’ joined ONE Championship in September of 2021, transitioning to MMA successfully with a first-round submission victory over Anderson ‘Braddock’ Silva. He then followed up that win with another submission victory over South Korean slugger Kang Ji Won.

Vera, on the other hand, is a Filipino-American veteran and previously the heavyweight king in ONE. ‘The Truth’ captured the inaugural ONE heavyweight world title in 2015 with a knockout victory over Paul Cheng. He held the belt for six years until Bhullar took it from him in April 2021.

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The possibilities are endless for Anatoly Malykhin

In recent years, ONE Championship has placed great focus in building out their heavyweight division, which is rapidly filling up with some very big names. Anatoly Malykhin himself is part of the next generation of heavyweight fighters in the Asian martial arts organization.

Of course, ‘Buchecha’ and Vera aren’t the only two names who could be lined up for Malykhin. There’s also Kang Ji Won, although Malykhin says the South Korean is a friend and he would rather not fight him.

Apart from the aforementioned fighters, however, there’s also hard-hitting Italian and former world title challenger Mauro Cerilli, Senegalese wrestling sensation Oumar ‘Reug Reug’ Kane and veteran Alain ‘The Panther’ Ngalani, to name a few.

There’s a whole host of options for Malykhin should Bhullar not be ready to fight anytime soon.

Needless to say, however, fans are very much looking forward to Malykhin finally facing Bhullar in what will go down as perhaps the biggest heavyweight fight in ONE Championship history.