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Anatoly Malykhin [Photo Credits: ONE Championship]

“No one can take me down” - Anatoly Malykhin said it’s impossible to bring him to the mat

Anatoly Malykhin says that no man can take him down. After his performance against previously undefeated world champion Reinier de Ridder at ONE on Prime Video 5, it would be hard to argue against that claim from the Russian juggernaut.

Malykhin shocked the world when he absolutely smashed ‘The Dutch Knight’ in the opening round of their highly-anticipated main event. Knocking out de Ridder in the first round, Malykhin kept his ‘0’ intact while taking the Dutchman’s along with his ONE light heavyweight world championship.

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Speaking at the ONE on Prime Video 5 post-fight press conference, Malykhin made the claim that it is essentially impossible to take him down:

“I trained with one of the best fighters in the world, Olympic and freestyle wrestling and I believe, no one can take me down because that's what I'm training for every single day.”

Reinier de Ridder, one of the best Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners in ONE Championship, had zero luck getting Anatoly Malykhin to the mat despite multiple attempts, each one more desperate than the one before it. Unable to get his man to the mat, it was just a matter of time before Malykhin's heavy hands put ‘The Dutch Knight’ away in spectacular fashion.

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Watch the presser below:

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Amir Aliakbari wants to run it back with Anatoly Malykhin

Anatoly Malykhin wasn’t the only heavyweight to make waves last weekend. Just hours after Malykhin scored the biggest knockout of his professional career, Iranian monster Amir Aliakbari scored his own knockout against former ONE heavyweight world champion Brandon ‘The Truth’ Vera.

Like Malykhin, it only took one round and a barrage of strikes for Aliakbari to end Vera’s night, and as it turns out, his career. Following the win, Aliakbari called for a rematch with Anatoly Malykhin during his post-fight interview:

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“Anywhere. Anytime… I’m on a redemption road right now. If I’m not going to fight Arjan Bhullar, no problem. I’ll take him. But I’d like to take my first loss back and Malykhin can catch it next.”

The two heavyweight sluggers met at ONE: Revolution in September 2021. That night, the Russian juggernaut scored a first-round knockout against the UWC Greco-Roman wrestling world champion. With Aliakbari scoring back-to-back wins since that fight, Aliakbari would like the opportunity to hand Malykhin his first career loss.

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Edited by
C. Naik
 
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