Anatoly Malykhin, a Russian behemoth, won despite nursing a leg injury and was impressive in his annihilation of Arjan Bhullar, a former ONE heavyweight world champion, last week. Malykhin won the fight and dominated the bout.
‘Sladkiy,’ who had previously held the ONE interim heavyweight title, became the undisputed division king by overpowering ‘Singh’ en route to a third-round technical knockout (punches) in their eagerly anticipated unification match, which took place on June 23 in Bangkok during ONE Friday Fights 22. The event was hosted at the Impact Arena.
The entire bout saw Anatoly Malykhin exhibit the strength that has been his trademark, scoring decisive knockout strikes to the head and torso of his opponent, an Indian-Canadian fighter. Arjan Bhullar was eventually knocked out when the battle moved to the mat because of all of the blows that he sustained.
The previous champion fought frantically to survive the pressure that was being applied to him, but Anatoly Malykhin did not stop punching his opponent when he was on the ground. As a result, the referee was eventually forced to call an end to the bout at the 2:42 mark of the third canto.
Anatoly Malykhin disclosed to the South China Morning Post following his most recent title win that he was not feeling at his best when he fought Arjan Bhullar and that he rushed to the hospital immediately following the bout. This revelation came after Malykhin had just won his most recent title.
The Russian man, who was 35 years old, said:
“A month before the fight, I had already been experiencing symptoms of a pinched nerve [in my leg]. I had some concerns about it. [During] the fight, I was concerned, and it was bothering me once more. After undergoing an X-ray examination, I can say that I am once again prepared. I only needed one leg to win.”
Check out the interview that was just posted:
Malykhin became a legitimate two-division ONE world champion when he won the heavyweight unification match against Arjan Bhullar. In addition to his heavyweight world title, Malykhin also holds the ONE light heavyweight world title.
He also improved to 13-0 in professional mixed martial arts competition, with five of those victories coming in the ONE Championship. To this far, every one of his triumphs has been earned by finishing in first place.
In the meantime, Arjan Bhullar was unsuccessful in his first attempt to defend the title he had won in May 2021.
On YouTube, you can watch a replay of the 22nd edition of ONE Friday Fights.
