Anatoly Malykhin can finally say he is at the top of the mountain after what he achieved last Friday. That is because Malykhin was able to get a TKO victory in the third round against Reinier de Ridder. This victory meant he became a 3 division champion in ONE holding the Middleweight, Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight Titles.
Anatoly Malykhin holds an impressive record of 14-0 (6-0 in ONE Championship) being able to finish each of them. Malykin first held gold on November 2nd 2022 with a knockout victory against Kirill Grishenko. This victory meant that Malykin had cliched the ONE Interim Heavyweight Championship. The lightweight championship was next on the list with a first round knockout over Reinier De Ridder. Arjan Bhullar came afterwards, Malykhin got the finish in the 3rd to unify the Heavyweight title. Before, last Friday’s victory against Reinier De Ridder in the 3rd round to clinch the Middleweight title in the rematch.
Anatoly Malykhin has got the MMA Community talking
Since becoming a 3 division champion Malykhin has had the MMA community talking including the UFC number 1 ranked pound-for-pound Fighter Islam Makhachev. Islam Makhachev went on Instagram and posted a picture of Malykin on his story with the words “Most Dangerous guy in the planet”. This is high praise coming from the number one ranked pound for pound fighter in the UFC.
What is next for Malykhin?
Malykhin being a 3 division champion has got people speculating about who is next with people talking about a matchup with Francis Ngannou. This is unlikely to happen due to Ngannou fighting Anthony Joshua in boxing fight on March 8th and then Fighting Renan Ferreira in PFL. One Championship owner Chatri Sityodtong also ruled out co-promoting with another organisation other than UFC so who would be next for the 3 division champion?
Omur “Reug Reug” Kane
Omur holds a 6-1 record with his only lost coming against Kirill Grishenko. Since then, he has gone on to achieve a 3 fight-winning streak snapping the undefeated records of Batradez Gazzaev, Zhasur Mirzamukhamedov, Marcus Buchecha. He has also been calling out the champion on social media calling for the fight to happen.
Aung La N Sang
Aung La N Sang is riding a 3-fight winning streak with wins over Yushin Okami, Gilberto Galvão and Rong Fan. Sang has also previously won both the Light heavyweight and Middleweight belts so the occasion won’t be a problem for him.
Whoever is next won’t have an easy job as Malykhin has shown he is the real deal in the MMA world. Whoever is next is going to have to put in the work if they stand any chance of coming out as champion against him.
Featured image credits to @anmalykin on Instagram
