MMA: After 18 months of trash talk and bad blood, Anatoly “Spartak” Malykhin (13-0) finally got his hands on former ONE Heavyweight champion Arjan Bhullar in Bangkok last Friday (June 23) during ONE Friday Fights 22.
A masterclass ensued.
From precision striking to dominant grappling, Bhullar (11-2) was outmatched from the opening bell. Malykhin, who had never entered a third round in his mixed martial arts career, began the round as he ended the second – with an onslaught of strong punches. He then segued into a takedown of the decorated wrestler, ultimately finishing the fight with punches from above before the referee called a stoppage.
The victory in Bangkok’s Lumpinee Stadium saw Malykhin unify the ONE Heavyweight titles and earn a US$50,000 (B1.7 million) fight bonus for his troubles. The 35-year-old Russian, who has trained out of the Tiger Muay Thai & MMA Training Camp in Chalong for several years, is now an undisputed champion in two divisions after he earned the ONE Light Heavyweight title last December with a first-round knockout of former undefeated champion Reinier de Ridder.
Malykhin won the ONE Heavyweight interim title back in February 2022 with a second-round knockout over Kirill Grishenko. Since then, he had been on a collision course to take on Bhullar to unify the heavyweight titles. But a series of delays and contractual disputes prevented the big boys from entering the ONE ring for 18 months. In that time, both sides engaged in heated call-outs and insults that led to last Friday’s highly-anticipated bout to settle the score.
After Friday’s win, Malykhin wasted no time in calling out former foe de Ridder, who is currently the ONE Middleweight World Champion, for an October bout. Anatoly expressed his desire to hold three world titles and called out de Ridder for saying Anatoly was a fake champion with fake belts in previous interviews.
In addition, ONE Championship founder and CEO Chatri Sityodtong stated right after the bout to a packed Lumpinee stadium, “You’re the best heavyweight world champion on the planet!”.
‘Cooked the chicken’
After the fight Malykhin told ONEFC.com he had gone into the contest with a specific plan to attack Bhullar’s body frequently from the outset in order to wear his opponent down and drain his energy.
“His torso, I think, is his weak point. He always protects his head well, so I worked more on his body – in my calm and relaxed style, that’s it. I waited for the body shots to do their job. And then when he was exhausted, I just hammered him. I cooked the chicken in the oven. Roasted it.”
During a backstage interview after the win, Malykhin admitted to South China Morning Post that he had suffered a pinched nerve in his leg about one month prior. The injury had worried him prior to the bout, as it started to nag before entering the ring.
“But now I’m ready to check it. I had two X-rays after the fight. I won with one leg. If my leg was better, this guy [Bhullar] would not be alive until the third round,” he said in the interview. “It would have already been finished in the first round. I promise that nobody will be alive until the third round again.”
As for what’s next in the heavyweight division for Spartak, Malykhin states that Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend and undefeated fighter Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida is likely the next contender for the title.
However, the Brazilian would have to get past Oumar “Reug Reug” Kane in their Aug 5 bout in Bangkok in order for Almeida to earn the next shot at Malykhin’s heavyweight title.
