“I want him to earn everything on his own” - Anatoly Malykhin says no handouts will be given to his son

ONE middleweight and light heavyweight MMA world champion Anatoly Malykhin wants his son Leo to have the best life possible. He, however, has no plans of spoon-feeding his kid, choosing instead to teach him the value of hard work to get what he wants.

The Russian juggernaut made this known in an interview with ONE Championship as he discussed his family life, including being a doting father.

'Sladkiy' said:

“I don’t plan on giving him anything for free – no big gifts, no cars, no apartments. I want him to earn everything on his own."

Leo is now four years old and has shown a growing interest in martial arts, which has Anatoly Malykhin all happy and excited. He, however, is not putting too much pressure on his son, letting him enjoy training and just experiencing the beauty of combat sports.

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Anatoly Malykhin finding balance between competition and family life

While he is looking after his family, Anatoly Malykhin is not neglecting his job as a topnotch fighter in ONE Championship. He has been training, keeping himself ready once his number to compete is called.

He spoke about it in an interview with ONE Championship back in April, highlighting that everything was going well for him both personally and professionally.

"Everything's been going well in 2025 - just like it did in 2024 and 2023. Life is steady. I'm training, focusing on my family. We love each other deeply as a family," Malykhin said.

Malykhin was last in action in November 2024, where he sustained a split decision loss to Oumar Kane of Senegal and lost the heavyweight MMA world title he also concurrently held.

A rematch with 'Reug Reug' is something he is also looking to having for his upcoming matches apart from defending the middleweight and light heavyweight MMA championship belts.