ONE Heavyweight World Champion Arjan Bhullar is back, and he wants to prove that he is the rightful king of his division. On June 23, “Singh” will attempt to unify the divisional strap when he takes on interim titleholder Anatoly Malykhin in the featured contest at ONE Friday Fights 22.

Fans have been clamoring for the opportunity to see the two top heavyweights lock horns for over a year, and the Indian fighter is as excited as they are to get down to business.

Arjan Bhullar was unfazed by Anatoly Malykhin’s raw power

“Finally. It’s been a minute, but I’ve been itching. I’ve been itching the entire two years. I’m happy we’re finally here,” Bhullar said in an interview with MMA Underground recently. During “Singh’s” absence, Malykhin has risen to incredible heights. The Russian behemoth has added four wins to his perfect professional slate, which now sits at 12-0, and he claimed both the ONE Interim Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight World Championships last year in dominant fashion. 

The heavyweight king remains unimpressed by his upcoming foe, however, and he believes “Sladkiy” has a distance to go before he can truly say he’s at the top of the mountain.

“He’s been doing what he’s had to do, hasn’t had a blemish so far. I wouldn’t say he’s perfect – his record is, but he’s got big holes, and we’re going to look to exploit them. He’s dangerous, he’s finished everyone, all that stuff, but at the end of the day, there’s a difference between good and great. There are levels to this, and that’s what I’m excited to show,” he said.

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No man has been able to go the distance with Malykhin in ONE so far, and his power has brought down some stalwart stars in the Singapore-based promotion, including former two-division ONE World Champion Reinier de Ridder, who was served the first loss of his 16-0 career at the hands of the hulking Russian.

Arjan Bhullar labeled Anatoly Malykhin as a clown but respected him

Bhullar has done his homework and understands the dangers his heated rival will bring to the ring on June 23. He credits “Sladkiy” for his dominance so far but asserts that the interim king is simply a placeholder in the heavyweight division.

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“He’s dangerous, and I respect that, but anyone over 200 pounds is dangerous. When I was away, they dressed up this guy. He was the clown for those two years and [was told to] go out there and pretend like you’re a champion while [we wait for] the real champ [to] come back,” he said. “That’s what he did, and he did a good job for that. But this is my belt – my division. I’m back, and I’m going to show him there’s levels to this.”