Anatoly “Sladkiy” Malykhin took some time off after winning the ONE Interim Heavyweight World Championship at ONE: BAD BLOOD. After all, he earned a US$100,000 bonus from ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong and deserved to use some of it in style.

“[To celebrate] I picked up my wife, our kid, and nanny, and we went to the north of Thailand. Relaxing, enjoying nature, swimming, and trying to recover from training and fighting,” the undefeated ONE World Champion said.

“My fight was moved several times, and I have not had a rest for a while, so we picked up a quiet hotel to relax. I have not spent the money yet, but I am going to buy a nice car for my wife. She has been dreaming about it for a long time.”

But aside from wanting to give his wife that luxurious gift, the Russian won’t be too frivolous with his winnings.

“When I was 20 years old, I used to think that I had a lot of time ahead of me, but now I am 34, and I think I should be pushing forward all the time,” the Golden Team mainstay stated.

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“Days fly by, and I am afraid of missing out on something so that I can retire at 38 and know that I’ve done everything in my power to get to the top.”

Anatoly Malykhin wants Arjan ‘Singh’ Bhullar in his ONE Championship return

While he was able to take a break before returning to the grind at Tiger Muay Thai in Thailand, he never stopped calling out ONE Heavyweight World Champion Arjan “Singh” Bhullar in hopes of getting a unification bout for the title.

However, the fighting pride of Kemerovo continues to declare that the Canadian-Indian is afraid to face him inside the Circle.

“I do not think it will ever happen. [Bhullar] seems to be running away from me all the time. I won’t be surprised if it happens again. He has not fought any decent opponents of my level in the past. If I have to fight him, I will, but it will be a very quick fight,” he said.

Bhullar won the heavyweight crown against longtime titleholder Brandon “The Truth” Vera at ONE: DANGAL last year. However, contract negotiations have stalled his unification bout versus Malykhin.

Yet, if their showdown pushes through, the competitor with a 100 percent finish rate in The Home of Martial Arts won’t feel threatened by anything Bhullar brings to the Circle.

“He has nothing to show against me. He is short, with short arms and legs. He is a fighter in a different class,” Malykhin said.

“He is not a bad fighter – just not an outstanding one. If we were to fight, and the fans wanted the bout to go a bit longer, I could try and not KO him in the first round.”