“Great fight, great names, and a great event” - Anatoly Malykhin recaps historic ONE 172 in Saitama Super Arena

Reigning two-division ONE world champion Anatoly Malykhin was thrilled by all the action at ONE 172 in Japan.

Emanating from the legendary Saitama Super Arena, ONE 172 delivered a slew of massive ONE world title clashes and an unforgettable main event showdown between former flyweight Muay Thai titleholder Rodtang Jitmuangnon and former three-division K-1 king Takeru Segawa.

There were a heap of memorable moments, including Nabil Anane's systematic beatdown of Superlek and Masaaki Noiri's shocking third-round TKO over Tawanchai to win the ONE interim featherweight kickboxing world championship.

However, the biggest moment undoubtedly came from Rodtang, who put away Takeru just 80 seconds into their main event showdown.

Looking back on all the action during a recent interview with ONE Championship, Malykhin said:

"There were some great stars on the card Rodtang showed his power. He knows how to light up the crowd. Great fight, great names, and a great event. I really enjoyed watching it."

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Anatoly Malykhin was excited to see fans supporting Japanese fighters at ONE 172

Adding to his comments, Anatoly Malykhin was happy to see some of the biggest names in Japanese combat sports get their moment to shine at one of the biggest events in ONE Championship history. He said:

"You could tell right away how much effort went into this event from ONE, and from Mr. Chatri personally. Everything was top level, the stadium was packed. I know how much people in Tokyo love combat sports."

He added:

"They have their own heroes, and the crowd really supports them. I’m glad their local fighters get that kind of backing."

Which fight at ONE 172 was your favorite? Let us know in the comments.

If you missed any of the action, you can watch the full ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang replay on demand via watch.onefc.com.