“Nothing but respect behind the curtain” – Rivals Amir Aliakbari, Anatoly Malykhin share heartwarming moment at ONE 166

Newly crowned three-division mixed martial arts world champion ‘Sladkiy’ Anatoly Malykhin may have traded barbs with Iranian wrestling sensation Amir Aliakbari in the past. But behind the scenes backstage, it’s all love.

ONE Championship recently shared a short video clip of an interaction between Malykhin and Aliakbari before the event kickoff at ONE 166: Qatar last weekend, and the two MMA behemoths appeared to be cordial and courteous towards one another.

Check out the Instagram clip here:

ONE Championship wrote:

“Nothing but respect behind the curtain 🙏 What’s next for these behemoths? @anmalykhin@amiraliakbari60⁠”

In the footage, Malykhin is making the rounds backstage, high fiving fellow blue corner athletes and wishing them well before their fights, including Aliakbari. ‘Sladkiy’ wished his Iranian counterpart good luck on his fight, while Aliakbari said:

“Malykhin. Go and take your three belts, then come.”

Malykhin and Aliakbari have traded their fair share of barbs in the past, and with both men victorious at ONE 166: Qatar, a heavyweight showdown may be inevitable.

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Anatoly Malykhin captures third MMA world title with TKO victory over Reinier de Ridder at ONE 166: Qatar

Anatoly Malykhin is now a three-division MMA world champion. The 36-year-old Russian mauler scored a third-round technical knockout over ‘The Dutch Knight’ Reinier de Ridder at ONE 166: Qatar to capture the ONE middleweight MMA world title.

The event took place at the Lusail Sports Arena in Lusail City last Friday, March 1. Fans in the United States and Canada can catch a replay of all the action on-demand with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription or on ONE Championship’s official YouTube channel.

What’s next for Malykhin? A well-deserved break, for sure. But when he comes back, a potential fight against ‘The Burmese Python’ Aung La N Sang and heavyweight title defenses against Aliakbari, Oumar ‘Reug Reug’ Kane, and Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida.