“I knew he could do it” – Fabricio Andrade had no doubt about Anatoly Malykhin’s ability to grab middleweight gold

ONE bantamweight MMA world champion Fabricio Andrade was not at all surprised that fellow world title holder and friend Anatoly Malykhin delivered on his promise to add the middleweight MMA gold to the hardware in his possession.

'Sladkiy' became the first ONE fighter to hold MMA world titles in three divisions when he defeated Reinier de Ridder by third-round TKO in their headlining contest at ONE 166: Qatar on March 1. The latest title conquest was in addition to the light heavyweight and heavyweight belts he previously seized.

In an interview with Sportskeeda MMA, Fabricio Andrade, who also trains at Tiger Muay Thai in Phuket, Thailand, like the Russian juggernaut, shared his thoughts on the performance of Malykhin at ONE 166.

The Brazilian champion said:

"To be honest, I expecte him to do that, you know. When he said he was going down to middleweight, I knew he could do it. There was no problem."

Malykhin was once again unstoppable at ONE 166, dominating De Ridder with his combination of power and speed that proved too much for his opponent, who was unable to continue late in the third round after being subjected to a ferocious ground and pound.

The victory was the second by the Kemerovo native over 'The Dutch Knight,' from whom he took the ONE light heavyweight belt by first-round KO in December 2022 in Manila.

A replay of ONE 166 is available for free to North American viewers with an active Prime Video subscription.

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Anatoly Malykhin believes Fabricio Andrade will bounce back from loss to Jonathan Haggerty

As much as Fabricio Andrade believes in the abilities of Anatoly Malykhin as a fighter, so does the Russian powerhouse to him.

Following the loss of 'Wonder Boy' to Jonathan Haggerty back in November in their all-champion clash for the vacant ONE bantamweight kickboxing world title, 'Sladkiy' expressed his support for the bantamweight king, who he believes will come back better from the defeat.

Malykhin shared with ONE Championship in an interview:

"Let's move on. It's not a big deal. Soon, Fabricio will prove himself number one again."

Fabricio Andrade vied for the vacant bantamweight kickboxing world title at ONE Fight Night 16 on Nov. 3 against the division's Muay Thai champion, Haggerty. He, however, fell short in his quest, knocked out in the third round.

It was his first defeat in seven matches so far under ONE Championship.