Tag: Anatoly Malykhin

ONE 169 results: ‘Reug Reug’ dethrones Anatoly Malykhin to become champion

“Reug Reug” Oumar Kane it a ONE champion after he defeated Anatoly Malykhin over five rounds of fighting.

“Reug Reug” reigns supreme.

In the ONE 169 main event Friday at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, [autotag]Oumar Kane[/autotag] took one of then-triple champion [autotag]Anatoly Malykhin[/autotag]’s titles away. Kane (7-1) defeated Malykhin (14-1) by split decision after five rounds of heavyweight fighting.

The bout was largely lackluster, with both men grinding into the ropes. During separations, Malykhin appeared to be the aggressor. He struggled with range a bit, coming up short on many of his punches, but he was still able to crack Kane on several occasions.

Kane never faltered. Conversely, he cracked Malykhin with a hard blow that resulted in a Round 4 knockdown (though it was tough to tell if it was more of a slip).

Ultimately, two of the three judges thought Kane did more and he was declared the winner by split decision. A massive celebration ensued as confetti fell from the ceiling, and referee Herb Dean was nearly taken out by an enthusiastic Kane corner.

In victory, Kane became the first African champion in promotion history. A Senegalese wrestler, Kane turned heads when he pivoted to MMA in 2019 because of his size, physique, and athleticism. As he’s developed, Kane has continued to rack up wins, outside of an April 2021 loss by TKO to Kirill Grishenko.

Malykhin lost one title but still has two others in his trophy case. Entering the bout, he held three divisional titles: middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight. Friday’s defeat was his first professional loss.

Full ONE 169 results include:

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Rich Franklin: ‘Reug Reug’ has part of his game that could make good Anatoly Malykhin look bad

Friday’s ONE Championship heavyweight title fight has been expected to be a doozy for a while.

Friday’s ONE Championship heavyweight title fight has been expected to be a doozy for a while, and that was confirmed at the news conference.

Tempers weren’t exactly kept in check when three-division champ [autotag]Anatoly Malykhin[/autotag] and [autotag]Oumar Kane[/autotag] (aka “Reug Reug”) squared off for the ONE 169 heavyweight title main event.

Malykhin (14-0) got a physical reaction from Kane (6-1) in their faceoff, and after a few more physical decisions they had to be separated.

Former UFC middleweight champion and current ONE VP Rich Franklin thinks there’s reason to feel a buzz around the heavyweight headliner because Malykhin is back in the division and not down a weight class or two.

“It’s been a while since we’ve had a heavyweight title match, particularly with Malykhin bouncing around and the different matches he did in the different weight classes,” Franklin told MMA Junkie Radio. “This is the first time we’ve had the king in that division back again (in a while), so this is a big deal.”

Malykhin never has been out of the third round and has all 14 of his wins by finish, including two over former two-division champ Reinier de Ridder, who makes his UFC debut Saturday in the co-main event.

His dominance has led to him being a prohibitive 10-1 favorite at the betting window against Kane. But Franklin cautioned against counting out the 32-year-old from Senegal.

“‘Reug Reug’ – I’ll say this: I wasn’t a big believer when he came into the organization. I was like, meh,” Franklin said. “But each fight, he’s been able to close the gap a bit more and a bit more. I think Malykhin is going to be a tough opponent for him – a very tough opponent – so he’ll need to up his game because Malykhin is more of the complete package.

“I do believe ‘Reug Reug’ will have to rely on his wrestling more. But ‘Reug Reug’ is a super athletic guy, and because of his wrestling, he’s a bit more unorthodox with his striking – so that can oftentimes make good fighters look bad, as well.”

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ONE 169 video: Anatoly Malykhin and ‘Reug Reug’ separated after physical faceoff

Tempers began to flair between Anatoly Malykhin and Reug Reug ahead of their ONE 169 heavyweight title encounter.

Tempers are beginning to flair between [autotag]Anatoly Malykhin[/autotag] and [autotag]Oumar Kane[/autotag] (better known as “Reug Reug”) ahead of their ONE 169 heavyweight title encounter.

What started a peaceful faceoff at Wednesday’s pre-fight press conference in advance of Friday’s event, which takes place at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, turned into a physical one between the combatants.

Reigning ONE Championship triple champ Malykhin (14-0) approached his opponent and stuck his hands out in a gun motion. That caused “Reug Reug” (6-1) to react by slapping the hand away, then the pair inched closer to each other.

They traded words, and Malykhin put his arm around the body of Malykhin, who did not like the aggressive move. The pair tangled and a group of security jumped in to tear them apart.

Check out the video above to see the entire exchange between Malykhin and “Reug Reug” at the ONE 169 press conference.

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Photos: ONE 169 pre-fight press conference in Bangkok

Check out these photos from the ONE 169 press conference in Bangkok, Thailand, where Anatoly Malykhin and “Reug Reug” faced off for the first time. 

Check out these photos from the ONE 169 pre-fight press conference from Bangkok, Thailand, where triple champion [autotag]Anatoly Malykhin[/autotag] and “Reug Reug” [autotag]Oumar Kane[/autotag] faced off for the first time before their heavyweight title fight. (Photos courtesy of ONE Championship)

ONE Championship triple champ Anatoly Malykhin defends heavyweight belt vs. ‘Reug Reug’ at ONE 169 in Atlanta

ONE Championship three-division titleholder Anatoly Malykhin, who is 14-0, will put his heavyweight belt on the line at ONE 169 in Atlanta.

[autotag]Anatoly Malykhin[/autotag] will attempt to build on his unique ONE Championship legacy when he puts the heavyweight championship on the line vs. [autotag]Oumar Kane[/autotag] at ONE 169.

Malykhin, who is reigning champion at heavyweight, light heavyweight and middleweight, will attempt to defend one of those belts for the first time against “Reug Reug” on Nov. 8 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Ga.

A ONE Championship official verified the booking between Malykhin (14-0) and Kane (6-1) on Wednesday.

Malykhin, 36, picked up the first of his undisputed titles in December 2022 with the light heavyweight belt. He then moved up to heavyweight and got that belt in June 2023. He most recently dropped all the way to middleweight to claim his third title in March, and now he jumps back up two weight classes in attempt to continue the unprecedented run.

Kane, 32, bring a three-fight winning streak into his chance to derail Malykhin. He hasn’t competed since August 2023, where he defeated Marcus Almeida by unanimous decision.

In addition to the heavyweight title fight, ONE 169 will also feature ONE Featherweight Muay Thai title-fight trilogy bout between Tawanchai P.K. Saenchai and Jo Nattawut.

Anatoly Malykhin hilariously explains why he’s gradually paying off $50K bet with Merab Dvalishvili

ONE’s triple champ Anatoly Malykhin hilariously explains why he’s slowly paying off his $50K bet to Merab Dvalishvili.

ONE’s triple champion [autotag]Anatoly Malykhin[/autotag] has a debt to pay to UFC title contender [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag], and claims he’s taking care of it – slowly.

A couple of years ago, Malykhin and Dvalishvili made a $50K bet on the UFC 273 bantamweight title rematch between Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan. Malykhin picked his fellow Russian countryman, Yan, while Dvalishvili believed his teammate Sterling would win.

Sterling won the fight, and ever since then, Dvalishvili has sporadically mentioned the bet during interviews or on social media because the debt has yet to be paid in full.

Dvalishvili vented his frustration about the bet during his media day interview last year before fighting Yan himself in the UFC Fight Night 221 headliner. The Georgian told reporters that he sent Malykhin multiple account numbers to transfer the money but had yet to receive anything. Aside from Yan telling his friend not to pay off the bet, Dvalishvili said he worked out a deal that money would start coming in after Malykhin fought for ONE again.

Well, according to Malykhin, he’s paying off the bet now, but little by little, to protect Dvalishvili from splurging or partying in Las Vegas.

“I lost a bet and every month I transfer $1-2,000 to cover it, let’s say like in installments,” Malykhin told MMA Junkie through an interpreter. “I don’t want to transfer the whole amount because what if he goes on a big spree, or he has like a huge party and gets wasted? Then his next performance would be jeopardized. So in reality, I’m just trying to show some care and love.”

“… What if he spends everything in one go? I want him to have a longer pleasure with it.”

You can check out the full interview with Malykhin in the video above.

Three-division champ Anatoly Malykhin wants more ONE history

At 36, and with a historic trio of belts around his waist, Anatoly Malykhin said he’s not done chasing history.

At 36, and with a historic trio of belts around his waist, [autotag]Anatoly Malykhin[/autotag] said he’s not done chasing history.

No, the ONE heavyweight, light heavyweight and middleweight champion isn’t thinking about a fourth title. But he’d still like to try something no modern-era major champion has done.

“I have a crazy idea,” Malykhin told MMA Junkie Radio. “I would like to fight two opponents in one evening. I would like to beat two athletes in one evening and create a new history. No one has ever done this before.”

The 36-year-old Russian, who is 14-0, including six knockout wins for ONE, just keeps winning title fights. Earlier this month, he took out Reinier de Ridder for a second time in three fights to win the middleweight (205 pounds in ONE) belt. He previously took the light heavyweight title from him.

Malykhin thinks a fight for ONE in the U.S. should be his next move. And if that two-opponent thing can be figured out, he’s down.

“America would be a great place for the next card I’m on,” he said. “When I was a kid and I used to fight a lot on the street, I had an unbeaten record of 300-0. Nobody asked me on the street what is my weight.”

ONE’s next scheduled event in the U.S is set for September in Denver.

Anatoly Malykhin def. Reinier de Ridder at ONE 166: Best photos

Check out these photos from Anatoly Malykhin vs. Reinier de Ridder at ONE 166 in Qatar.

Check out these photos from [autotag]Anatoly Malykhin[/autotag]’s title victory over Reinier de Ridder at ONE 166 which took place at Lusail Sports Arena in Lusail, Qatar. (Photos courtesy of ONE Championship)

Reinier de Ridder vs. Anatoly Malykhin 2 to headline ONE 166 in Qatar

More than a year later, Reinier de Ridder will have his shot at revenge and reclaiming the ONE light heavyweight title vs. Anatoly Malykhin.

More than a year later, [autotag]Reinier de Ridder[/autotag] will have have his shot at revenge against [autotag]Anatoly Malykhin[/autotag].

Undefeated Malykhin (13-0), the reigning ONE Championship light heavyweight and heavyweight title holder, will put his 225-pound belt on the line when he runs things back with de Ridder (16-1) on March 1 at Lusail Sports Arena in Lusail, Qatar. The rematch will serve as the headliner for ONE 166.

Malykhin handed de Ridder the first loss of his career and took the title in December 2022 when he finished him in the first round at ONE Fight Night 5. After that, Malykhin went on to claim the undisputed ONE heavyweight title this past June when he stopped Arjan Bhullar with ground and pound in Round 3. It was Malykhin’s only fight of 2023.

De Ridder, the reigning ONE middleweight champ, didn’t compete in MMA in 2023. He took part in a grappling match this past May at ONE Fight Night 10, which he lost to Tye Ruotolo by unanimous decision.

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ONE Friday Fights 22 results: Anatoly Malykhin overwhelms, stops Arjan Bhullar in heavyweight title unifier

ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong declared Anatoly Malykhin the “best heavyweight on the planet” after yet another dominant performance.

ONE Championship has a new undisputed heavyweight champion – and he’s still perfect.

In their title-unification bout at ONE Friday Fights 22, [autotag]Anatoly Malykhin[/autotag] overwhelmed [autotag]Arjan Bhullar[/autotag] before winning by TKO with ground-and-pound in the third round at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. It was yet another show of dominance from Malykhin, who is now 13-0 since turning pro in 2016 and has finished all 13 of his fights.

Afterward, ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong got on the microphone and declared Malykhin “the best heavyweight on a planet.” Whether or not that’s actually true could be up for debate, but Malykhin (13-0) looked the part against Bhullar (11-2).

Right away in Round 1, Malykhin was the aggressor, leaving Bhullar no choice but to rely on his defensive boxing. Bhullar did find some success with his jab, but Malykhin clearly landed more combinations and heavier shots. In the second, Malykhin came out firing, with Bhullar again on his backfoot as he ate a pretty clean uppercut. Malykhin, with his relentless pressure, nicely worked in shots to the body, which opened up for him to land upstairs. It was a crisp and efficient display of boxing from Malykhin, which caused Bhullar to show fatigue as he walked back to his corner.

Malykhin had never entered the third round in his career, but there was no slowing down from the Russian. Right away he trapped Bhullar in the corner and unloaded a barrage of punches as he tried to finish. To Bhullar’s credit, he hung in there, and Malykhin switched to dragging him to the mat, where the two men rolled out of the ring. On the restart, Bhullar, who was starting to fade, appeared to intentionally crawl out of the ring as a stalling tactic, garnering a yellow card from the referee. When they restarted again, Malykhin jumped down on Bhullar, who turned to his stomach, and rained down punches for the finish at the 2:42 mark.

The fight was a rude awakening for Bhullar, who returned to action after a more-than-two-year layoff.