Dmitry Menshikov admits he wasn’t too fond of Muay Thai as a kid

It’s hard to imagine that Dmitry Menshikov, one of the most fearsome strikers in the world today, wasn’t such a big fan of Muay Thai and kickboxing as a child.

The Russian star revealed in an interview with ONE Championship that he would rather play football than hit the pads when he was growing up. Menshikov, however, eventually fell in love with the martial arts as soon as he felt the companionship inside the gym.

He said:

“I remember I didn’t want to do it that much. I wanted to continue playing football. But as soon as I entered the gym, I understood I belonged there at once, and I immediately gave up on football and dove into this.”

As he progressed in his Muay Thai and kickboxing journey, Menshikov slowly but a menacing reputation in the striking circles.

The 25-year-old would build an impressive 27-1 record, with 19 of those wins ending in a knockout. Menshikov is also carrying an 11-fight winning streak into his ONE Championship debut at ONE Fight Night 11: Eersel vs. Menshikov on Prime Video.

If his first fight wasn’t rattling enough, Menshikov will challenge two-sport world champion Regian Eersel for the ONE lightweight Muay Thai world championship this Friday in US primetime at the historic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium.

Eersel is one of the most dominant world champions in ONE Championship history holding both the ONE lightweight Muay Thai and kickboxing world titles. ‘The Immortal’ is 9-0 in the promotion, 7-0 in world title fights, and 5-0 in his world title defenses.

ONE Fight Night 11 is ONE Championship’s sixth Amazon card of the year and will be broadcast live and for free via Prime Video in North America.