ONE heavyweight champion says interim champ won’t sign to fight
While ONE Championship heavyweight champion Arjan Bhullar resolved his contract dispute with the promotion, an interim championship bout was set, and a title was claimed.
Anatoly Malykhin earned the ONE interim heavyweight strap by defeating Kirill Grishenko in February.
Now with a new contract in hand, the champ wants to prove to the fans who the undisputed heavyweight kingpin truly is. The problem however, is that Malykhin won’t sign, at least according to Bhullar.
“I’ve traveled to over 30 countries around the🌍looking for the toughest heavyweights to test myself against,” Bhullar wrote on Instagram. “A lifetime of hard work, no shortcuts. This is me in Russia many years ago. Some good people over there. Humble. Hard working. Respectful. This is right around the time @anmalykhin got caught for sticking a needle in his a$$ trying to cheat his way to becoming a somebody🐤 I know Real Russians. Real Russians live in Dagestan and fight for @eagles_.mma. Real Russians don’t use their wife to try to get fights. I signed a new contract in April. The fight has been moved twice since then. Now the third time we’ve accepted again and he won’t sign the paperwork.”
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Bhullar won the ONE heavyweight title in May of 2021, defeating long-time champion and fellow former UFC fighter Brandon Vera. The fight was just Bhullar’s second one with the promotion.
Malykhin is undefeated as a professional, boasting a perfect record of 11-0.
