ONE Championship: “One shot can end it all” - Anatoly Malykhin extremely impressed by Rodtang’s one-hitter quitter against Takeru

Reigning and undisputed ONE light heavyweight and middleweight MMA world champion 'Sladkiy' Anatoly Malykhin of Russia was absolutely mesmerized by Rodtang Jitmuangnon's gnarly knockout performance against Takeru Segawa earlier this year.

'The Iron Man' Rodtang delivered a masterclass at ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang at Saitama Super Arena last March, stopping 'The Natural Born Krusher' Takeru in just a little over a minute into their kickboxing super-fight.

Speaking to ONE Championship in a recent interview, Malykhin was beyond impressed by the Thai megastar, and says it will be tough to stop Rodtang's freight train at this point.

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The Russian knockout artist told the world's largest martial arts organization:

"It was outstanding. Every time Rodtang steps in there, he puts on a show. He knows how to do that. And yeah — I was definitely surprised. He knocked out a really strong opponent. But that’s how this sport is — full contact, and one shot can end it all."

Malykhin has been a huge fan of Rodtang since he joined ONE Championship, and has had multiple interactions with the Thai icon.

Anatoly Malykhin feeling reenergized after much-needed break: "I realized my body needed rest"

'Sladkiy' Anatoly Malykhin is coming off a heartbreaking setback to Oumar 'Reug Reug' Kane at ONE 169 last year, and has since been largely out of action to focus on his health, recovery, and his family.

He told ONE Championship that the short break has been absolutely essential:

"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