“My body needed rest” - Anatoly Malykhin admits to slowing things down despite his continuous training routine

ONE middleweight and light heavyweight MMA world champion Anatoly Malykhin is steady with his training routine as he waits for his next match. He is mindful though not to overexert things so as to give his body the needed time to rest.

He spoke about it in an interview with ONE Championship, highlighting that at this stage of his career, he is playing it smart in training for him to continue competing at a high level.

'Sladkiy' said:

"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."

Anatoly Malykhin, 37, was last in action in November last year at ONE 169. He narrowly losing by split decision to Oumar 'Reug Reug' Kane of Senegal and as a result, lost his heavyweight title.

The defeat was his first in ONE Championship in seven matches to date. He now stands at 14-1 overall in his professional career.

Anatoly Malykhin keen on having a title rematch with 'Reug Reug'

Anatoly Malykhin is still waiting for his next match under ONE Championship. He is open to anything that will be offered to him, including a possible title rematch with Oumar 'Reug Reug' Kane for the heavyweight MMA belt.

He made this known in the aftermath of his split decision loss to the Senegalese fighter last November at ONE 169 that cost him the ONE heavyweight title.

Malykhin told ONE Championship in an interview:

"Absolutely. I hope it happens soon. Matchmakers mentioned it might be in March, but the rematch isn't confirmed yet; it's still about 50/50."

In his match against 'Reug Reug' at ONE 169, Anatoly Malykhin found himself in trouble in the early goings as he was taken down by his opponent and absorbed telling blows on the ground.

He, however, was able to gather himself as the fight wore on, taking control of the later rounds. Ultimately, it proved to be insufficient as the judges' scorecards deemed that 'Reug Reug' merited the nod.