Arjan Bhullar and Anatoly Malykhin will battle in a ONE heavyweight title unification bout at an event on July 15.
ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong confirmed the news when speaking to MMA Fighting on Monday.
“It’s going to happen officially now July 15,” Sityodtong said. “That’s the word that I got just literally a few hours ago.”
The matchup was originally expected to take place in March but the fight was rescheduled “due to a shift in broadcaster commitments” that forced the promotion to shift gears. Now, the heavyweight title fight will happen this summer instead.
Bhullar makes his first appearance in ONE Championship since winning the heavyweight title with a knockout over Brandon Vera in 2021. He was originally scheduled to return this past September, but an injury forced Bhullar to drop out of the matchup.
Now healthy again, Bhullar looks to build on his current four-fight winning streak, which included two victories in the UFC before he left the organization to sign with ONE in free agency.
As for Malykhin, the undefeated Russian will look to keep his momentum going after he became the interim ONE heavyweight champion in 2022 before dropping down to light heavyweight where he captured another title with a brutal first round knockout over Reinier de Ridder.
He currently sports a 12-0 record with a 100 percent finishing rate during his career.
There’s no word yet where the Bhullar vs. Malykhin event will take place, but now the heavyweights know they are scheduled to clash in July.