At the forefront of his agenda is a ONE Heavyweight MMA World Title defense. It’s a task not taken lightly by the Russian powerhouse.
With potential challengers lining up, he has meticulously narrowed his focus down to two opponents — Amir Aliakbari and “Reug Reug” Oumar Kane
“At the moment, I see two options. It’s ‘Reug Reug’ or Aliakbari. I don’t know which one,” he said.
“Aliakbari certainly deserves his rematch more at the moment because he’s got a four-fight winning streak, and that’s very serious.”
Despite the undeniable threat posed by Aliakbari and “Reug Reug,” Malykhin exudes confidence.
“I am ready to go in the ring with both of them on the same night,” he said.
With a flawless 14-0 record and a remarkable 100 percent finishing rate, “Sladkiy” is more than willing to stake his claim as the division’s undisputed kingpin against both men.
“Amir is in very good shape now. He has good boxing, and functionally he surprises me that he can breathe for all three rounds. I can’t wait for this fight. I think the audience is waiting for it too, so let’s go,” Malykhin said.
“Thoughts [on a fight with ‘Reug Reug’]? Knockout in round one, win a bonus, then have a good time with my family after the win.”
Anatoly Malykhin guarantees ‘This is just the beginning’
Anatoly Malykhin etched his name into the annals of MMA history by becoming the first three-division World Champion at ONE 166: Qatar.
Already holding the ONE Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight MMA World Championships, he added another feather to his cap by beating Reinier de Ridder in a rematch to capture the middleweight crown.
However, despite his unprecedented success, Malykhin remains hungry for more.
“Sladkiy” is steadfast in his pursuit of bigger challenges, fueled by an unyielding desire to stand shoulder-to-shoulder among the all-time greats.
“For me, this win does not make history. It’s always been clear I can do things in sports that no one else has ever done. I think history will be made when we get four belts and one more in boxing,” he said.
“Then we’ll make history. But, for now, this is just the beginning of our journey.”
Dude is fun to watch is a steamroller.
36 still got some great years ahead of him.
Does Aung get a crack at him? He is on a 3 fight win streak 3 finishes all in round 1 if I am not mistaken.
Also why do I still want to see Tatsuya Mizuno against Aung? That fight was supposed to happen some years back in ONE but never did.
Not hard to narrow your focus down when the promotion has like nine HW’s signed.
Heavyweight is a shallow division in ONE no doubt.
Still want to watch his next fight I just don’t think its much of a LHW or HW division so obviously would like to see him in PFLlator or UFC.
That’s why I was thinking maybe try and defend the most recent MW title he won against Aung.
Stay at MW lol there is a bit more there.
PFL/Bellator would be great.
How good or how does he fair in the UFC and what weight would be best for him in the UFC.
Bear in mind
One MW is 205lbs
LHW in 225lbs limit
HW is above 225lbs
Solid line up of champs represents ONE MMA though.
Lee has been one of the hottest prospects now.
Pacio just continues to improve leaps and bounds just a warrior.
Mighty Mouse is a legend
Andrade and Kang are badasses.
Andrade is a fantastic striker very entertaining
At 36, and with a historic trio of belts around his waist, Anatoly Malykhin said he’s not done chasing history.
No, the ONE heavyweight, light heavyweight and middleweight champion isn’t thinking about a fourth title. But he’d still like to try something no modern-era major champion has done.
“I have a crazy idea,” Malykhin told MMA Junkie Radio. “I would like to fight two opponents in one evening. I would like to beat two athletes in one evening and create a new history. No one has ever done this before.”
The 36-year-old Russian, who is 14-0, including six knockout wins for ONE, just keeps winning title fights. Earlier this month, he took out Reinier de Ridder for a second time in three fights to win the middleweight (205 pounds in ONE) belt. He previously took the light heavyweight title from him.
Malykhin thinks a fight for ONE in the U.S. should be his next move. And if that two-opponent thing can be figured out, he’s down.
“America would be a great place for the next card I’m on,” he said. “When I was a kid and I used to fight a lot on the street, I had an unbeaten record of 300-0. Nobody asked me on the street what is my weight.”
ONE’s next scheduled event in the U.S is set for September in Denver.
Rickson 2.0 in the house.
Rickson and Malykin are now a combined 600-0 but somehow not fighting the top 10 or top 20 in MMA.
