Arjan Bhullar, Anatoly Malykhin Set To Unify ONE Heavyweight Titles On September 29

ONE Championship has announced that the heavyweight belts will be unified in September as division kingpin Arjan Bhullar takes on interim titleholder Anatoly Malykhin at ONE 161.

Malykhin took home the interim belt when he knocked out Belarusian Kirill Grishenko at ONE: Bad Blood back in February and took the time to call out Bhullar, promptly kickstarting their rivalry.

The Russian was also awarded two $50,000 performance bonuses for his performance against Grishenko–the first to ever receive such a distinction from ONE Championship.

The Singapore-based combat sports promotion decided to have an interim heavyweight title instituted after Bhullar's contract negotiations stalled following his victory over then-champion Brandon Vera at ONE: Dangal in April 2021.

Two months after Malykhin's victory over Grishenko, Bhullar announced that he had signed a "one-of-a-kind deal" that "has not been seen in mixed martial arts (MMA)" as he revealed on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, ensuring his place atop the division.

With two titanic heavyweights chomping at the bit to declare themselves the undisputed king of the division, words were expected to start flying.

Bhullar responded to Malykhin's previous comments in mid-June, calling out the interim champion for remaining silent on social media following his announcement of an extension with ONE Championship.

"Check his social media. He hasn't said a [expletive] thing. That shows you what kind of coward he really is and what he actually thinks of the situation," Bhullar stated.

Understandably, Malykhin did not let such comments from Bhullar pass, calling the Indian-Canadian heavyweight his "baby chicken."

"[Bhullar] is my little baby chicken who is clinging on to the belt that should be mine. He's not a real champion. He keeps hiding from strong opponents, tries to choose convenient opponents," said Malykhin.

"I am a Russian Freestyle Wrestling Champion, so he won't be able to surprise me. His striking is very weak, it looks like he is trying to swat a mosquito. People will forget him after I am finished with him."

The pair's war of words is only going to intensify as the days pass until their September 29 clash.

Both men have a feasible claim to the heavyweight throne, but there can only be one undisputed champion, and ONE 161 will determine who will rightfully sit atop the division when it is all said and done.