“Ready to collect them all” - Famed coach John Hutchinson envisions three-division glory for prized student Anatoly Malykhin

To be the very best in combat sports, a fighter must be disciplined enough to continue pushing forward in spite of the hardships while also being honest to themselves on what they need to work on.

Despite being the reigning ONE heavyweight and light heavyweight MMA world champion, Anatoly Malykhin is cut from the same cloth that the combat sports world’s greats come from.

The Russian star will be gunning for the unprecedented feat of becoming a three-division ONE MMA world champion as he challenges rival Reinier de Ridder for the ONE middleweight MMA world championship at ONE 166.

In their last matchup, ‘Sladkiy’ made short work of the towering ‘Dutch Knight’ during their ONE light heavyweight MMA world title clash at ONE on Prime Video 5, relying heavily on his boxing to keep de Ridder on the backfoot and left him with only the ONE middleweight MMA world championship thanks to a vicious first-round knockout.

Malykhin will want to make even quicker work of de Ridder the second time around and has enlisted the help of famed striking coach John Hutchinson - the man responsible for molding Australian star Tim Tszyu into a WBO light middleweight world champion.

Hutchinson wrote on his Instagram story alongside a 2022 photo with the Russian heavyweight:

“Still collecting belts! Ready to collect them all @anmalykhin”

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Fans heavily backing Malykhin in quest for third ONE world championship

It has been said that fans can make or break a fighter’s career and with him combining his fight acumen with his charismatic personality, it is no surprise that the Golden Team gym product has fans in droves.

ONE 166 will take place inside the Lusail Sports Arena in Qatar on March 1.

Check your local listings or visit ONE Championship's official website on how to watch ONE 166 from your location.