![[Photo Credits: ONE Championship] Anatoly Malykhin and Amir Aliakbari](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2022/06/c1ea0-16563458524149-1920.jpg)
![[Photo Credits: ONE Championship] Anatoly Malykhin and Amir Aliakbari](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http%3A//www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20xmlns%3Axlink='http%3A//www.w3.org/1999/xlink'%20viewBox='0%200%2010%205.625'%3E%3Cfilter%20id='b'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20stdDeviation='.5'%3E%3C/feGaussianBlur%3E%3CfeComponentTransfer%3E%3CfeFuncA%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20type='discrete'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20tableValues='1%201'%3E%3C/feFuncA%3E%3C/feComponentTransfer%3E%3C/filter%3E%3Cimage%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20filter='url(%23b)'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Undefeated Russian heavyweight Anatoly Malykhin has impressed ONE Championship fans with his knockout power and lengthy winning streak. He made his promotional debut with a first-round stoppage of Alexandre Machado, and has appeared unstoppable since.
In his sophomore ONE bout, Malykhin followed his debut win with another knockout finish, this time over Greco-Roman wrestling world champion Amir Aliakbari.
'Sladiky' Malykhin wanted to silence Aliakbari in this bout as his opponent had expressed his immense confidence beforehand. On Instagram, ONE shared a clip of the impressive knockout.
"Sladkiy" turns up the HEAT 🔥 @anmalykhin"
It took less than three minutes of the very first round for Malykhin to earn a knockout victory over the Iranian. He was able to showcase his heavy hands to the world and how he can handle a high-level wrestler.
Anatoly Malykhin and Arjan Bhullar likely to unify ONE heavyweight world championship
In his most recent fight, Malykhin stopped Kirill Grishenko. The win earned the Russian the ONE interim heavyweight world championship. With this win, Malykhin improved his record to 10-0, including five consecutive knockout victories.
The undefeated heavyweight is expected to next face divisional king Arjan ‘Singh’ Bhullar sometime later this year. The champ captured the heavyweight world title with a TKO victory over then-titleholder Brandon ‘The Truth’ Vera.
Malykhin has been calling for Bhullar to defend his ONE world title for quite some time now and has even accused the Canadian-Indian of avoiding the fight. In an interview with ONE Championship, Anatoly Malykhin said of the reigning ONE heavyweight world champion:
“If the champion refuses to fight, then he is no longer the champion... He is not a fighter. He is a professional, he has a decent record, but he is not a fighter. He is not ready to fight the best. And currently, I’m the best. He is just a chicken. This is all I can say about him."
The ONE interim heavyweight world champion certainly did not mince words, as he added:
“Let’s forget about Arjan – he’s already in the trash bin of history. Soon, we will have a new champion.”
Although their fight is not yet confirmed, Malykhin and Arjan Bhullar will likely be booked for later in 2022, with the undisputed ONE heavyweight world championship on the line.
