ONE Championship’s heavyweight belts will be unified later this year.
The promotion has reportedly booked a fight between Arjan Bhullar and Anatoly Malykhin for their September 29th event, as first announced by Ariel Helwani on “The MMA Hour” Wednesday.
Bhullar earned ONE’s heavyweight belt in 2021, scoring a second-round finish victory over veteran Brandon Vera. However, he remained sidelined for more than a year afterward, as contract negotiations with the promotion stopped him from competing.
During Bhullar’s absence from competition, Malykhin rose up the ONE ranks and become an interim titleholder. In the fall of 2021, he scored his second win for the promotion, stopping Amir Aliakbari in the first round of a bout.
He then earned champion status in February, finishing then-undefeated talent Kirill Grishenko in the second round of a fight via punches.
The reigns of both Bhullar and Malykhin have still been short. One will come to an end later this year, with the other living on.
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