Aung La N Sang willing to fight Anatoly Malykhin on one condition

Aung La N Sang is more than willing to step inside the circle with two-division world champion Anatoly Malykhin, but only under one condition.

Typically competing at heavyweight, Malykhin stepped down to light heavyweight for his December showdown with ‘The Dutch Knight’ at ONE on Prime Video 5. Following his victory, the Russian juggernaut even teased the possibility of moving down to middleweight, which is exactly where Aung La would want him should they ever meet inside the circle:

“I think I would only fight Malykhin on a basis that he comes down to middleweight,” ‘The Burmese Python’ told ONE Championship. “There’s no way I’m going to fight at light heavyweight anymore.”

Aung La N Sang captured the vacant ONE light heavyweight world title at ONE: Quest for Gold, defeating Alexandre Machado via a first-round knockout. He went on to defend the belt against former ONE heavyweight world champion Brandon Vera before dropping it to Reinier de Ridder after a reign that lasted over three years.

With de Ridder still holding the ONE middleweight world title, Anatoly Malykhin might test his ability to make the lighter weight limit in a potential bid to become a three-division world champion. Should that day come, Aung La will be right there waiting.

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Aung La N Sang believes Anatoly Malykhin will continue to rise in 2023

When Anatoly Malykhin first debuted inside the circle, many believed he was nothing more than a solid wrestler with some solid boxing skills. Less than two years later, ‘Sladkiy’ is ONE Championship’s Fighter of the Year, bagging two world titles in a calendar year and maintaining his undefeated record in spectacular fashion.

Sharing his thoughts on Malykhin’s past, present, and future, Aung La N Sang admitted that he didn’t think much of Malykhin upon his debut with the promotion but now sees him as a well-rounded world champion who is only continuing to rise in the world of mixed martial arts:

“He is very impressive. When he started off, we thought he was just a wrestler with good boxing. But now we can see he’s well-rounded. He’s a great mixed martial artist and a world champion in two divisions. He’s going to do big things.”

With Malykhin’s emergence as one of the best heavyweight fighters in the world today, who would you like to see ‘Sladkiy’ face in 2023?