With Francis Ngannou, Anatoly Malykhin is one of the rare non-UFC fighters to appear in the top 10 of the best heavyweights in MMA, according to the specialized site MMA Fighting. Champion of the ONE Championship in the -120 kg category, this Russian nicknamed “Spartak” embodies a true force of nature, still undefeated.
Four times heavyweight champion at ONE, Malykhin is undoubtedly one of the most formidable fighters in the world, although still unknown to the general public. Undefeated ONE heavyweight champion Anatoly Malykhin has an impressive record of 14 victories.
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Aged 36, Malykhin joined ONE in 2021, but he was already a giant before establishing himself there. Amateur MMA heavyweight champion at the 2017 Russian championships, he then started a faultless professional career: 7 consecutive victories all obtained by knockout before signing with ONE Championship. From his first fight in 2021, he hit hard by beating Alexandre Machado by knockout, then won the interim belt in February 2022 by knocking out Kirill Grishenko.
Since then, Malykhin has only fought for the title, with an impressive stat of 100% KO wins at ONE Championship. This performance recently propelled him to tenth place among the best heavyweights in MMA across all organizations, according to MMA Fighting.
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This Friday, November 8, Malykhin will put his belt on the line against Oumar Kane, aka “Reug Reug”, in the main event of ONE 169 in Bangkok. Reug Reug, on a series of three victories, could well cause a surprise by inflicting his first defeat on Malykhin, a feat against the man many consider invincible.
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