By:  | April 11, 2023 8:20 pm

A heavyweight unification bout is confirmed for ONE Fight Night 12 on July 15th. Regular champion Arjan Bhullar will face interim champion Anatoly Malykhin in a card that is being broadcast live on Prime Video in North America.

The news was broken by MMA Fighting earlier today who had conduced an interview with Chatri Sityodtong.

The fight has been in the works for over a year now and was originally booked for ONE 161 in September. Bhullar pulled out of that event in order to undergo arm surgery.

It was then rescheduled for ONE Fight Night 8 last month. But the bout was postponed again with the promotion citing ‘a shift in broadcast commitments’.

Malykhin recently dropped down to light heavyweight and handed Reinier de Ridder the first loss of his entire career. The Dutchman had dominated the division up until that point but it was a completely one sided fight with the Russian winning the light heavyweight title at ONE Fight Night 5.

Two champions

Bhullar (11-1) is the regular champion. He won the belt by stopping Brandon Vera last year but has not fought in 14 months after becoming involved in a contractual dispute which was ultimately resolved.

With Bhullar sidelined due to those contract negotiations the promotion introduced an interim belt. Malykhin (12-0) won it by stopping Kirill Grishenko in the second round and the two men have been going back and forth on social media for over a year now.

Malykhin has repeatedly accused Bhullar of being a chicken while Chatri Sityodtong told reporters he fought the Canadian was running scared. The Russian was extremely dismissive in the aftermath of his win over de Ridder:

Bangkok bound

ONE Fight Night 12 will be held at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok according to MMA fighting. This is currently the only fight on the card.

ONE Fight Night 12, Bangkok, July 15th
Arjan Bhullar (c) vs. Anatoly Malykhin (For heavyweight title)