On The Cusp: Anatoly Malykhin One Fight Away From Heavyweight Greatness

Singapore, March 13: Having surged up ONE Championship's heavyweight division in just under 2 years, ONE Interim Heavyweight World Champ Anatoly Malykhin has kept himself busy and waited in the wings for heavyweight king Arjan Bhullar to return to action.

"Sladkiy" will finally face the Indian-Canadian standout on Saturday, March 25, in the main event of ONE Fight Night 8 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, and the biggest prize in combat sports is on the line - the ONE Heavyweight World Championship.

Malykhin's crusade through the heavyweight realm has been nothing short of destructive. Arriving in The Home of Martial Arts, the Russian destroyer was undefeated with all of his victories coming in the first round.

Despite a strong background in wrestling, it has been the dynamite in his fists that has launched him into the upper echelons.

Keeping to his traditional fighting style, the finishes flourished once again in his new promotional home of ONE. While the names were bigger and the stature of his opposition grew larger, Malykhin could not and has not been denied since arriving.

Alexandre Machado, Amir Aliakbari, Kirill Grishenko - all viable powerhouses and divisional mainstays have tasted the same flavor of defeat when coming up against Malykhin, resulting in them staring at the lights.

Having captured the Interim ONE Heavyweight World Title against Kirill Grishenko while waiting for Bhullar, many thought "Sladkiy" had bitten off more than he could chew when he chose to chase Reinier de Ridder for his ONE Light Heavyweight World Title in the meantime.

De Ridder possessed a stoic nature and a truly elite grappling game that oozed confidence, putting to sleep names like Vitaly Bigdash, former ONE Welterweight World Champion Kiamrian Abbasov, and former two-division king Aung La N Sang.

"The Dutch Knight" was formidable as he stood tall with the light heavyweight and middleweight prizes laced over his shoulders.

The credentials didn't faze Malykhin, though, and last December he walked into the lion's den and came out holding the lion's paw just four and a half minutes later, having stunned Singapore.

Doubling his gold and strengthening his position at heavyweight, the 12-0 Malykhin now has his ultimate goal in sight with Bhullar later this month.

It's been almost two years since "Singh" last displayed his talents in the Circle to take the World Title from the legendary champion before him, Brandon Vera, at ONE: DANGAL.

The duo's journey to their March title tilt could not be more different, and with mere weeks to go, the heavyweight division will finally have its answer.

Bhullar will be out to remind everybody just why he is the king, while Malykhin will have his sights set on becoming arguably the best heavyweight in the history of ONE.

Source: Media Release