Highly-Anticipated ONE Heavyweight Title Unification Rescheduled For March 24

ONE Championship's heavyweight division currently has two champions in the form of lineal division king Arjan Bhullar and interim titleholder Anatoly Malykhin with the new date for their unification bout being revealed.

The Singapore-based combat sports promotion made it known through its website that Bhullar and Malykhin's long-awaited clash will take place at ONE on Prime Video 8 on March 24 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

This would mark the second time that the pair had been scheduled for a unification fight after their original September 29 match at ONE 161 was bumped off following Bhullar's undisclosed injury and forced him to withdraw about a month away from fight night.

In the case of Malykhin though, he has kept himself busy–most recently by vying for Reinier de Ridder's ONE light heavyweight title during ONE on Prime Video 5 in Manila, Philippines on December 3, 2022.

Malykhin entered the bout as an underdog in the eyes of many since "The Dutch Knight" had taken care of any and all who sought to oppose him, entering the bout with an undefeated record of 16 wins with 14 finishes (11 by submission, three by knockout).

While many were expecting another dominant performance from de Ridder, few would have guessed what would happen next.

The Kemerovo, Russia-born fighter took the fight to the champion from the opening bell and repeatedly peppered him with punches to the face and body, showcasing his entire boxing arsenal.

Despite the four-inch height advantage, de Ridder was unable to establish any kind of offense and was eventually knocked to the ground by a meteoric right-hander before Malykhin put him away with ground-and-pound strikes in the last 25 seconds of round one.

De Ridder was stretchered away from the cage while a triumphant Malykhin stood tall with the ONE light heavyweight title.

Because of his showing against De Ridder plus his beatdown of Kirill Grishenko to take the interim heavyweight title, Malykhin is out to prove that he is the best heavyweight fighter ONE Championship has on its roster.

Bhullar has not been as active as his interim counterpart, but it should not take away from him being viewed as a threat.

The Indian-Canadian dominated Mauro Cerilli in his promotional debut at ONE: Century Part 2 in October 2019 and ended Brandon Vera's reign with the heavyweight title at ONE: Dangal in April 2021 with a second-round TKO.

With both men being heavy-handed strikers that are also well-versed on the ground, it all comes down to who blinks first at ONE on Prime Video 8 on March 24.