Anatoly Malykhin sits atop the MMA world as the first-ever three-division World Champion. The ONE Championship star completed that feat at ONE 166: Qatar against Reinier De Ridder. Although it was a dominant performance, the Russian praised his opponent and noted how much better he had gotten since their first meeting.
“This was a different Reinier to the one who weighed 102 kilos [225 pounds]. He was very strong and very motivated [at 205 pounds]. He improved his punching technique and became more dangerous and sharper. Of course, I didn’t have any big problems, but Reinier hit me once and rattled me. It felt like he knocked me down a little bit. It was the first time in my career that I have been dropped, and the hardest part was to get back into the fight and win,” Malykhin told ONE.
Malykhin added the ONE Middleweight MMA World Championship to the ONE Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight World Titles. While the world recognized and praised the history-making win, “Sladkiy” is still eyeing more gold. Only then does he believe he will enter the history books.
“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. Then we’ll make history. But, for now, this is just the beginning of our journey,” the Russian commented.
The options are plentiful for the Russian powerhouse. While he eyes even more goals, three divisions of contenders are beginning to position themselves at the foot of his mountain. It appears the first climbers called up will be the heavyweights.
“At the moment, I see two options. It’s “Reug Reug” [Oumar Kane] or [Amir] Aliakbari. I don’t know which one. Aliakbari certainly deserves his rematch more at the moment because he’s got a four-fight winning streak and that’s very serious,” Malykhin admitted.
Aliakbari has been on fire since losing to Malykhin. The Iranian heavyweight has used his massive power and strong wrestling to take out other top contenders. At ONE 166, he stifled Arjan Bhullar, who was disqualified after not engaging with Iran’s heavyweight superstar.
“Reug Reug” bested Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida in his last outing to usurp the Brazilian’s position near the top of the division. While Malykhin wants to fight all comers, he is even ready to do so in one night. He predicts a finish against both men to remain the ONE Heavyweight MMA World Champion.
“I am ready to go in the ring with both of them on the same night. 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. 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,” Malykhin said.
