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MMA king Anatoly Malykhin, who reigns over two of ONE's MMA divisions, recently spoke about the upcoming bout between two of his former foes, former divisional king Arjan 'Singh' Bhullar and Iranian powerhouse Amir Aliakbari.
Bhullar and Aliakbari are facing each other at ONE 166: Qatar on March 1, an event which Malykhin will headline alongside ONE middleweight MMA world champion Reinier de Ridder.
Speaking on the battle with his former opponents, 'Sladkiy' told ONE:
“It's a great fight. It's a good test for both. I think they have never had an opponent at the top of their game. This fight will show what they are really worth.”
It's not an Anatoly Malykhin quote if it doesn't include a little bit of trash talk towards his rivals. Back in 2021 at ONE: Revolution, 'Sladkiy' absolutely destroyed Aliakbari in the first round of their bout. Then last year at ONE Friday Fights 22, the heavy-handed Russian became the undisputed ONE heavyweight MMA world champion by dismantling Bhullar in three rounds.
Though he might be downplaying the skills of Bhullar and Aliakbari, we're sure the ONE double-champ will be keeping an eye on this heavyweight collision.
Anatoly Malykhin claims he's "scared" of his new middleweight physique
Fighting Reinier de Ridder, a man he already knocked out for the light-heavyweight strap, Malykhin will have to go down to 205 pounds to claim the Dutchman's middleweight throne. If he is successful at this attempt, 'Sladkiy' will be the first man to win three major world titles in three different weight classes in MMA history.
On his shredded new middleweight physique, Anatoly Malykhin told ONE:
“I feel great this time around. Sometimes during shadow boxing or hitting bags, I get scared of myself. I'm very fast and very strong, I'm tough and very motivated.”
Shredded or beefed up, one thing's for sure - any sane human would be scared of Anatoly Malykhin.
ONE 166: Qatar will air live on March 1 free of charge for existing Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.
