ONE Heavyweight Champion Arjan Bhullar is set to defend his title in title unification fight against Anatoly Malykhin on June 23 but he has sights set on a mega fight with that would pit him against former UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou, who recently signed with rival PFL league. Bhullar has been the ONE heavyweight champion for over two years now but has not fought since his championship-bagging victory over Brandon Vera at ONE: Dangal in April 2021. 

By DESIBUZZCanada Staff With News Files

SINGAPORE – ONE Heavyweight Champion Arjan Bhullar is set to defend his title in title unification fight against Anatoly Malykhin on June 23 but he has sights set on a mega fight with that would pit him against former UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou, who recently signed with rival PFL league.

Bhullar has been the ONE heavyweight champion for over two years now but has not fought since his championship-bagging victory over Brandon Vera at ONE: Dangal in April 2021. 

During a recent interview with Chamatkar Sandhu, Bhullar was asked if he was interested in facing Ngannou, aka ‘The Predator’. Bhullar was quick to point out that, for now, he’s focusing on his upcoming clash with Malykhin but confirmed he had some interest in Ngannou, which could be a potential inter-promotional bout. 

“Yes and no. June 23rd, I’ve got a date,” Bhullar said. “I’ve gotta take care of that, but after that, nothing else, it’s all just talk. So no in terms of that, but if we’re just talking, we’re sitting on a podcast, then yes, definitely.” 

Bhullar went on to theorize that the $2,000,000 minimum pay for Ngannou’s future opponents likely only applies to fellow PFL roster members. Bhullar believes that he could earn considerably more in an inter-promotional clash with ‘The Predator’. Bhullar, who is of Indian heritage, believes he’d likely draw huge viewership for the fight in India, though he vastly underestimated just how large the nation’s population is in 2023. 

“And I think to be quite fair, I think that two million is if you’re in-house with the PFL. If we’re co-promoting, we’re doing this or that, there’s no ceiling to that. I think there’s significantly more, in terms of myself, there’s no other heavyweight on the planet that could bring 800 million eyeballs, [through]Star sports [broadcaster of ONE Championship in India], to the table being a champion with that. It would be the most-watched fight of all time, you wouldn’t get those eyeballs anywhere else.”

For now, a showdown between Bhullar and Ngannou seems highly unlikely given both men’s lengthy inactivity and current commitments to separate promotions.