Early in his career, Anatoly Malykhin burst onto the MMA scene by taking advantage of his astonishing wrestling pedigree to impose his will on hapless opponents.
The undefeated Russian, though, truly made the leap to superstardom once he polished his striking game and used that concussive power to its full potential.
Malykhin admits that he wouldn't have become an unprecedented three-division MMA world champion without his trainer turned good friend John Hutchinson by his side.
'Sladkiy' made sure to give one of the most underrated coaches in the game his flowers in a ONE Championship interview:
"My right arm. Yes, my coach John Hutchinson is the main component. Nobody else has him, only I have him, that’s why we put everybody on their asses."
With Hutchinson guiding him every step of the way, Anatoly Malykhin has left a trail of devastation in his path.
While foes will always be wary of the triple champion's elite grappling prowess, they're also finding it hard to keep up with his vastly improved boxing skills.
Malykhin's killer overhand right and wild haymakers are now even deadlier and more precise than ever after he learned how to set them up through a slick jab.
Anatoly Malykhin vows to make quick work of 'unskilled' challenger Oumar Kane
After achieving his dream of becoming an MMA world champion in three weight categories, Anatoly Malykhin will return to heavyweight to settle some business.
'Sladkiy' will defend the heavyweight MMA strap for the first time against streaking contender 'Reug Reug' Oumar Kane in the curtain closer of ONE 169 this coming Nov. 8 at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
Malykhin has blasted some world-class opposition, from the likes of Reinier de Ridder, Arjan Bhullar, and Amir Aliakbari, among others.
That said, the Russian conqueror believes he'll have a much easier time against the Senegalese giant.
"How can he be a star? This guy lacks skills. This guy lacks charisma. I think he will put his gloves on the nail after our fight," Malykhin told ONE.
ONE 169: Malykhin vs Reug Reug will air live in US Primetime free of charge for Prime Video subscribers in North America.