Anatoly Malykhin continues to shine on ONE Championship‘s global stage. At ONE Friday Fights 22, the Russian took care of business without issue and became the undisputed ONE Heavyweight World Champion. Reigning over two divisions, Malykhin is one of the unique superstars in the sport today.
The highly-anticipated match saw both men begin slowly. Arjan Bhullar was seemingly trying to draw Malykhin in and force him to work, hoping to take him into deeper waters. However, “Sladkiy” had no problems touching Bhullar up while avoiding long entanglements.
As Malykhin touched Bhullar’s body, “Singh” began to fade. In the third round, the ONE Light Heavyweight and Interim Heavyweight World Champion started to see the gold was within reach and turned up the heat. Bhullar attempted to evade by rolling out of the ring but was only awarded a yellow card for his evasion.
Upon another restart on the ground, Malykhin pummeled Bhullar with heavy ground and pound. Bhullar could only attempt to cover up and offered no offense in response. That forced the referee to step in and leave no doubt about who is the heavyweight’s top dog.
Malykhin collected a $50,000 performance bonus for his effort in improving his unblemished professional record to 13-0. And all 13 bouts have ended before going to the scorecards. But even as the undisputed king at heavyweight, Malykhin did not want to celebrate too much.
The Russian’s big heart was on display in his post-match interview. The ONE Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight World Champion dedicated his victory to two special individuals at ONE who have recently passed away. It was a heartfelt and sobering moment just moments after his crowning achievement.
View this post on Instagram
“You know, today is not that day when I want to celebrate my victory… Our ONE Championship has lost two wonderful people – [Victoria] Lee and our referee [Watcharin “Paopom” Ratchaniphon]. I want to dedicate this victory to their families and that we all stand up and honor them with a minute of silence. And this will be the best celebration of my today’s victory for me. Thanks to everyone who’s been supporting me,” Malykhin wrote on Instagram.
Malykhin is showing he is a champion in and out of the ring. He is an exceptional talent and a special human. There may not be a better representative to hold down both divisions as a dominant champion and fan-favorite in 2023.
