Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou stated he’s “very shut” to signing with both ONE Championship or the PFL for his post-boxing run, and ONE heavyweight king Arjan Bhullar could be more than pleased to welcome him to Asia.
“Singh”, who lastly faces interim titleholder Anatoly Malykhin in a title unification bout on July 14, stated in an interview with MMA Combating he’s not one to really feel fearful an opponent, even when it’s one large knockout energy like Ngannou.
“He’s conquered the West, let’s deliver him out to the East,” Bhullar stated. “I’ve no drawback with this. Persons are terrified of him as properly, however if you happen to’re a fighter and also you’re a champion, it doesn’t matter who it’s, you step up. That’s what a champion does, win, lose or draw. And I’ve by no means run away from a struggle. I’ve by no means shied away. I’ve misplaced, however I’m not that man. There’s nobody that may say Arjan Bhullar didn’t step up. I would win, I would lose, however I’ll all the time step on that line, I’ll all the time signal the contract. I’m a person on the finish of the day. That’s all you’ve got when the game is finished, it’s the respect. Go for him.
“I hope he comes out East. I see you, Francis. The entire sport is watching. I hope he does properly in boxing. It’ll be good for all of the athletes if he makes some huge cash exterior the UFC. Will probably be superb. I hope he’s profitable doing what he’s doing, what he’s eager to do. He appears to be in a contented place, all of these issues as a competitor. Let’s get it on.”
As for because the potential match-up, Bhullar stated he appears a whole lot of similarities between Ngannou and Malykhin, an undefeated 35-year-old Russian with a one hundred pc ending fee in 12 skilled MMA wins.
“He was operating by way of everyone and that didn’t work, and he didn’t know the right way to modify in opposition to Stipe [Miocic],” Bhullar stated. “There was a giant gap, Stipe exploited it. After which similar with [Derrick] Lewis after that. Then he needed to study to be affected person and modify and add some kicks and all these sorts of issues, and a few grappling. I imply, the grappling gained him the struggle. He was zero grappling when he first misplaced to Stipe, after which in opposition to Stipe he defended the takedown. I really see similarities in Anatoly due to that. There’s a whole lot of questions he hasn’t answered but.”
“However other than that, he’s very harmful,” he continued. “Clearly, he’s one punch, one kill kind of man. Till the tip of the struggle, he’s harmful. He’s gotten higher. He’s made changes, he’s extra well-rounded, he’s far more harmful now than he’s ever been. All of these issues are correct. However there are ranges to grappling. And even these ranges to putting. I don’t get hit. I’m superb at being evasive. You see my face after each one among my fights, not touched. Everyone seems to be saying Anatoly is a killer, they had been saying that about Brandon Vera as properly, and Brandon Vera has eight limbs to hit you with, Anatoly has two palms. And Francis would have two palms.
“They’re nuclear bombs, I get that, however if in case you have a nuclear bomb and you may’t land it, what are you gonna do? Similar factor with Anatoly. In case your supply system isn’t there to land a bomb, you may sit at house along with your bomb. It means nothing. I don’t get hit. I’ve bought that grappling. Clearly, he stepped up with Ciryl [Gane], however take a look at what Jon [Jones] did to Ciryl. So there are ranges to grappling, and I can do that every one night time lengthy.”
Bhullar has additionally competed within the UFC prior to now, parting methods with the corporate after defeating Marcelo Golm and Juan Adams in 2018 and 2019. Bhullar gained a choice over Mauro Cerilli in his ONE debut later that 12 months earlier than knocking out Brandon Vera to say the heavyweight title in Could 2021, however hasn’t fought since. With Malykhin up subsequent, he stated “it might be very, very attention-grabbing” to get the Ngannou struggle later.
“Greater than something, it’s a measuring stick,” Bhullar stated. “Earlier than I’m executed, I wanna know what the highest finish of my capabilities. It’s for me. This journey as an athlete, is about me. I don’t care about Anatoly. I don’t care about Francis. I don’t care about anyone. I wanna know what was the very best stage I might get to, and that was it. Okay, hey, I contact this after which I could be executed in the future and speaking to my youngsters and inform them, ‘hey, dad was this good. That is one of the best I might have been.’
“I bought that in wrestling and I wanna get that on this sport, whether or not that’s bringing Francis in, whether or not that’s Anatoly, whether or not it’s another person. I need to know the place my restrict was and I don’t consider it’s Anatoly. Let’s see past that the place it goes.”
