The long-awaited ONE Heavyweight World Title unification bout between reigning king Arjan Bhullar and interim titleholder Anatoly Malykhin officially has a new date.
These two behemoths will collide for the gold at ONE Friday Fights 22, which broadcasts live in Asia primetime from Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on June 23.
This massive showdown has been a long time coming.
Malykhin was originally scheduled to challenge Bhullar for the belt at ONE: ONLY THE BRAVE in January 2022, but the Canadian-Indian kingpin and his management team declined the bout offer.
A month later, the mighty Russian would knock out Kirill Grishenko to win the ONE Interim Heavyweight World Championship at ONE: BAD BLOOD.
Since then, a unification match between the pair had been signed on multiple occasions, but each time, a monkey wrench was thrown into those plans.
An injury forced Bhullar to withdraw from their scheduled clash at ONE 161 in September 2022, and a shift in broadcaster commitments led to the bout’s removal from the ONE Fight Night 8 card this past March.
But now, after a year and a half, the wait will finally end on June 23.
The Biggest Heavyweight Fight In ONE Championship History
This ONE Heavyweight World Title unification bout may have been a year and a half in the making, but it will be well worth the wait.
Bhullar is a Commonwealth Games Wrestling Gold Medalist who also represented the Canadian wrestling team at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.
Since making the switch to MMA, he has compiled an 11-1 record and dethroned the division’s inaugural king, Brandon Vera, in May 2021. By doing so, he became the first MMA World Champion of Indian descent.
Similarly, Malykhin is a European Grappling Champion who earned the Master of Sport honor in freestyle wrestling in his native Russia.
The bruiser known as “Sladkiy” owns a perfect 12-0 MMA record with a 100 percent finishing rate. And in addition to defeating Grishenko for the interim heavyweight belt, he knocked out previously unbeaten superstar Reinier de Ridder to claim the ONE Light Heavyweight World Title last December.
On June 23, these two giants will collide in the biggest heavyweight fight in ONE Championship history – and the true undisputed king of the division will finally emerge.
