Anatoly Malykhin says Fabricio Andrade will bounce back from loss to Jonathan Haggerty: “It's not a big deal”

ONE heavyweight and light heavyweight MMA world champion Anatoly Malykhin knows Fabricio Andrade will emerge much better than ever after his humbling loss to Jonathan Haggerty.

‘Wonderboy’, the reigning bantamweight MMA kingpin, chased greatness when he transitioned to another sport in a bid to claim the vacant bantamweight kickboxing world title at ONE Fight Night 16 last Friday.

Unfortunately, Andrade ran into a roadblock in the form of ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world champion Jonathan Haggerty. ‘The General’ ended the Brazilian’s double champ aspirations with a vicious knockout win in the second round.

Malykhin was inside Lumpinee Stadium at the time in full support of his Tiger Muay Thai teammate. While he’s disappointed that Andrade fell short, he knows this setback is about to set up a major comeback.

After all, Andrade’s psyche is just as sharp as his fighting skills, and the Russian believes we haven’t seen the last of the magnificent 26-year-old.

‘Sladkiy’ said in an exclusive interview with ONE Championship:

“Let's move on. It's not a big deal. Soon, Fabrício will prove himself number one again.”

Moreover, Malykhin thanked the world’s largest martial arts organization for setting up monumental champion vs. champion matches such as this one.

“Thank you ONE for such super-fights - the league organizes them, and we watch these fights with fascination on TV.”

Meanwhile, this marks as Fabricio Andrade’s first official loss under the ONE banner. ‘Wonder Boy’ has left a trail of destruction in MMA with six straight victories (and one no-contest).

As far as Anatoly Malykhin is concerned, there’s no way to go but up for Andrade after this agonizing defeat.

The replay of ONE Fight Night 16 is available anytime on demand for Amazon Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.