Anatoly Malykhin Knocks Out Reug Reug, Retires As Three Division ONE Champion

Anatoly Malykhin (15-1 MMA) knocked out "Reug Reug" Oumar Kane (7-2 MMA) in the fourth round at The Inner Circle on Friday to reclaim the ONE Heavyweight MMA World Title. Then he laid his gloves down in the center of the ring and walked away from the sport. The retirement means three ONE Championship MMA titles are now effectively vacant. Malykhin still holds the promotion's middleweight and light heavyweight belts on top of the heavyweight title he just won back. All three go with him.

How The Fight Played Out

The two massive fighters felt each other out in the first round. Malykhin was poking Kane with the jab while Kane stalked and gauged the range. Eventually, Malykhin started landing the rear uppercut regularly. Malykhin landed another straight rear uppercut to Kane’s nose and sent him into the ropes. Kane had already been felled twice by that shot in his previous fights. Kane’s corner gave him smelling salts in a bid to revive him before the round ended. 

Kane roared back out for the second round, uppercutting Malykhin against the ropes. Malykhin came off and scored a trip takedown, landing in side control before Kane regained his feet. Kane piled on the pressure. When Malykhin worked the jab, Kane caught the punch and landed one of his own. Kane pressed Malykhin against the ropes and then was clinched against them. Kane lifted Malykhin off his feet to score a double leg takedown. Kane ended up on his back in Malykhin’s full guard after stuffing Malykhin’s butterfly guard.

Malykhin shot for a takedown four seconds into the third round and got it. Kane scrambled and got back to his feet but Malykhin stuck to him and the two broke after 20 seconds of clinching. They exchanged hard leg kicks. Malykhin was pressing Kane, looking to impose his wrestling despite falling short. Kane drilled Malykhin in the throat with his fingers after disengaging from a twin collar tie up. This went on throughout the entire round.

The exchange of jabs evolved into a brawl 17 seconds into the fourth and final round. Malykhin used the jab to measure the rear uppercut, which Kane also used. Kane landed knees and punches to Malykhin’s head. An uppercut, especially after Malykhin had tagged the Benin native with it, it was the last thing anyone saw. Kane crumpled to the ground. Malykhin landed more uppercuts as Kane struggled to stand up. Malykhin secured the victory at 1:38 of the fourth round. Then he retired on the spot.

Malykhin Retires on Top
Malykhin takes off his gloves, puts them in the middle of the cage, and that's it. A 38 year old man retires with a 15-1 record with a 100 percent finishing rate and $100,000 for "Battle of the Night." Almost no one saw this retirement coming bro. Before this fight, Malykhin talked about how he wanted to fight Kane in Africa and make a trilogy. But thats now a thing of the past. Ex-ACA heavyweight champ Evgeny Goncharov summed up the reaction of the MMA community in an interview with Telecom Asia Sport.

“His retirement is surprising on one hand," Goncharov said. "But on the other, knowing how things are going at ONE, its the right thing to do. MMA is stagnating there. Should he go somewhere else and start over? The right choice in this situation is to walk away while you're on top."

What This Means for ONE Championship

The timing of Malykhin's exit is brutal for ONE. With Demetrious Johnson already gone and the promotion continuing to release fighters from its roster (John Lineker was recently cut after a failed drug test), the MMA side of the organization is getting thinner. Three vacant title divisions at once is a problem that does not have an easy fix.
Fans reactions on social media has been harsh too. The general consensus is that ONE's focus has shifted away from MMA and toward Muay Thai and kickboxing, and Malykhin leaving only accelerates that. But Malykhin left no room for doubt about how he wanted this to end. He got his revenge, got his belt back, and got out. At 38, with a 100 percent finishing rate and three belts over his shoulders, nobody can say he left anything on the table.

"The right choice in this situation is to walk away while you're on top," Goncharov said. "Most fighters want to earn money and secure a good life. Malykhin made his money, so retiring at 38 makes sense."