The highly anticipated World Title tussle between Arjan Bhullar and Anatoly Malykhin has finally got a new date. On June 23, the two behemoths will battle it out to claim the undisputed ONE Heavyweight World Title in the main event of ONE Friday Fights 22 inside the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

The heated rivalry between the two heavyweight kings has been brewing for over a year. However, if there’s anything we’ve learned from their previous performances, the wait will be well worth it.

The Anatoly Malykhin vs Arjan Bhullar bout hadn’t materialized even after negotiations

Bhullar, a Commonwealth Games Wrestling Gold Medalist, took the ONE Heavyweight World Championship from inaugural titleholder Brandon “The Truth” Vera in only his second appearance in the Circle in May 2021 to become the first fighter of Indian descent to win a World Title in MMA. 

Meanwhile, Malykhin announced his arrival at ONE Championship by knocking out former ONE Light Heavyweight World Title challenger Alexandre Machado with a first-round knockout in March 2021 and followed it up with another first-round knockout against Iranian giant Amir Aliakbari to make his intention of chasing Bhullar’s strap clear. 

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After the Canadian-Indian’s management refused to defend his World Title against “Sladkiy,” the hulking Russian faced off against erstwhile undefeated Belarusian slugger Kirill Grishenko for the division’s interim belt. He quickly took care of business on that occasion, earning the strap and the right to challenge Bhullar for the undisputed throne. Unfortunately, uncontrollable factors have prevented the matchup from happening.

The upcoming Anatoly Malykhin vs Arjan Bhullar bout is expected to be an enthralling one

An injury to Bhullar forced him out of their scheduled matchup in September 2022, and a shift in broadcaster commitments took out the rescheduled bout set for March of this year. It now appears that fans will get to see this much-anticipated bout take place inside a ring.

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It will be interesting to see how the 11-1 Bhullar will be able to hold off a streaking Malykhin. The Kemerovo native owns 12 professional MMA wins – none of which have gone the distance. His latest win came at the expense of former two-division ONE World Champion Reinier de Ridder’s pristine record. That win handed Malykhin the ONE Light Heavyweight World Title to put alongside his interim heavyweight strap. 

Fans can catch this monumental clash of titans on Asia primetime on Friday, June 23.