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Three-division MMA world champion Anatoly Malykhin claims ONE Championship has the strongest fighters in the world.
Starting in December 2022, Malykhin made history in his last three fights becoming an MMA world champion at middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight. The Russian powerhouse changed his life with his fighting accomplishments and took ONE Championship's recognition to a new level.
During an interview with ONE, Malykhin had this to say about how his three-sport supremacy helped the promotion grow:
"Yeah, I think we made a lot of noise around the world! Everyone is paying attention to us. Everybody understands where the strongest heavyweights and lightweights in the world are."
Malykhin last fought on March 1 in a rematch against Reinier de Ridder at ONE 166: Qatar. This time, 'Sladkiy' attempted to dethrone De Ridder of his middleweight throne after taking his light heavyweight strap in December 2022.
De Ridder lasted longer in their second meeting before suffering the same fate - a knockout loss. The impressive performance advanced Malykhin's promotional record to 6-0, all wins by KO/TKO, including three in round one.
Watch Anatoly Malykhin's latest fight-ending sequence against Reinier De Ridder below:
Who should Anatoly Malykhin fight next?
Anatoly Malykhin has not confirmed what's next for his fighting career. With that said, he could be interested in defending his heavyweight throne after making the middleweight limit last time out.
Assuming Malykhin does fight at heavyweight next, the two primary title contenders are 'Reug Reug' Oumar Kane and Amir Aliakbari.
Firstly, 'Reug Reug' started his ONE tenure with back-to-back first-round knockouts before suffering his lone loss against Kirill Grishenko. The Senegalese-born fighter has since silenced the doubters with three consecutive wins, including his latest against Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida.
Meanwhile, Aliakbari fought Malykhin in September 2021 and was knocked out in round one. The Iranian grappler now looks to secure a rematch against his rival after four consecutive wins inside the distance, including two against former world champions Arjan Bhullar and Brandon Vera.
Watch Malykhin and Aliakbari get into an altercation at ONE Fight Night 12 below:
