ONE Championship: “He’s got the skill set” - Anatoly Malykhin not ruling out a rematch with surging Kiril Grishenko

Reigning and undisputed ONE light heavyweight and middleweight MMA world champion 'Sladkiy' Anatoly Malykhin of Russia is looking forward to regaining his heavyweight MMA gold in the near future.

And the 37-year-old Golden Team representative already has a few opponents in mind.

One is the surging Canadian, Ben Tynan, who has proven to be a force in the division with his incredible wrestling and unbridled strength. Another one is a man Malykhin has already beaten -- Belarusian brawler Kirill Grishenko.

Malykhin defeated Grishenko at ONE: Bad Blood in February of 2022, winning via second-round knockout in only his third appearance in the world's largest martial arts organization.

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Speaking to ONE Championship in a recent interview, Malykhin says he is open to facing Grishenko again.

'Sladkiy' said:

"Only a fight will tell. On paper, sure — he’s got the skill set."

Malykhin is looking to reclaim the ONE heavyweight MMA world title, which he lost to Senegalese wrestling sensation Oumar 'Reug Reug' Kane late last year in an absolute shocker.

The 37-year-old veteran is hard at work, securing his comeback.

Anatoly Malykhin says much needed break did wonders for his physical, mental health: "I realized my body needed rest"

'Sladkiy' Anatoly Malykhin rode a wave of momentum few fighters in the game have ever experienced. Along the way, he became an unprecedented three-division MMA world champion.

But even Superman needs a break, and Malykhin realized this too late after losing his gold to 'Reug Reug'.

He told ONE:

"After my last fight, I realized my body needed rest. I hadn’t really taken a break in five years — training two or even three times a day. Now, I’ve finally been able to take some time off, live a normal, even ordinary life for a bit. But I never stopped training — I was still running, stretching, sparring, working on my stamina. I just love sports too much to stop completely."

Stay tuned to Sportskeeda MMA for all the latest news and updates surrounding Anatoly Malykhin's next fight.

About the author

Dan is an MMA writer with 10+ years of overall experience. Before his ongoing tenure at Sportskeeda, Dan got the opportunity to be at the forefront of the sport by contributing to ONE Championship and Fight Game Asia. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology.

Dan’s connection to MMA started during the early days of the UFC and ONE Championship. He previously practiced boxing and ranks Demetrious Johnson, Anderson Silva, Georges St-Pierre, Jon Jones, and Fedor Emelianenko as the top five MMA fighters of all time.

He has covered several events onsite and on the ground for ONE Championship and hopes to continue doing so. He ensures that he churns out accurate articles by citing only legitimate sources and getting firsthand accounts through exclusive interviews whenever required.

Dan feels MMA fighter pay seems like an issue because it often gets compared to what fighters earn in boxing but that MMA will eventually catch up in the future.

His other interests include soccer and video games.

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Edited by C. Naik