"History books" - Lean and mean Anatoly Malykhin barrels through Phuket's asphalt ahead of middleweight MMA world title challenge

Reigning and undisputed ONE heavyweight and light heavyweight MMA world champion ‘Sladkiy’ Anatoly Malykhin is gunning for history. He is looking to achieve something no one in the world of mixed martial arts has ever done before – and that is to hold three consecutive world titles across three different weight classes.

Conor McGregor popularized the champ-champ movement in the UFC many years ago. Former ONE featherweight and lightweight MMA world champion Martin ‘The Situ-Asian’ Nguyen followed suit in ONE Championship, and becoming a double champ was instantly on every fighter’s bucket list.

Over the years, we’ve seen two-division world champions in ONE Championship come and go.

Apart from the aforementioned Nguyen, Malykhin’s upcoming opponent Reinier de Ridder is the current ONE middleweight MMA world champion and previously held the light heavyweight gold. Reigning ONE lightweight and welterweight MMA world champion Christian ‘The Warrior’ Lee is another example.

But no one has ever been able to capture three divisional belts. This year, Malykhin aims for the unprecedented.

In a recent Instagram post by John Hutchinson, head of Tiger Muay Thai’s elite boxing program in Phuket, fans can see Malykhin jogging on the streets of Thailand with a huge grin on his face.

The video clip was posted with the caption:

“Cheers horse ‘ to @anmalykhin on an incredible journey from heavyweight to light heavyweight to middleweight, “incredible title of three-weight world champion!

“History books 🕰️📚🏆🏆🏆#AnatolyMalykhin #NumberOne #Process#ThreeWeightWorldChampion#OneChampionship #HistoryTime #3BeltTime”

Check out the clip here:

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Anatoly Malykhin to challenge Reinier de Ridder for middleweight throne

Russian powerhouse Anatoly Malykhin already took the light heavyweight strap from former two-division king Reinier de Ridder at the tail end of 2022. But ‘Sladkiy’ now wants ‘The Dutch Knight’s last remaining golden belt and is after De Ridder’s middleweight strap.

The two are set to lock horns in the main event of ONE 166: Qatar, which broadcasts live from the Lusail Sports Arena in Lusail on Friday, March 1.

Visit onefc.com for more information on how to watch from your location.