“My universe” - Anatoly Malykhin credits wife and manager Anita Malykhin for his success

Unbeaten 'Sladkiy' Anatoly Malykhin is a double world titleholder in ONE Championship but owes all of his success to his wife and family.

In a recent post on Instagram, the Russian athlete shared:

"Happy birthday, my universe, girl, you are the only one in the world, thank you for choosing me, making me a champion, every day of yours is happiness and will always be. Our life is a dream, thank you, enjoy."

Malykhin has had incredible success in MMA with the majority of his fights being won by knockouts. He's even won the ONE interim heavyweight world title and the ONE light heavyweight world championship both via knockout.

But none of his MMA conquests would have been possible without the unyielding support of his wife, Anita. In an interview with ONE Championship, 'Sladkiy' explained how vital her belief in him has been:

“My wife is the one person that believes in me more than I believe in myself. I had moments in my life where nobody believed in me ... I had a pretty rough past where people would do me dirty, those very close to me, and I [thought about quitting the] sport maybe three or four times."

Instead of quitting MMA, Anita filled him with new vigor and drive. He continued:

"When I met my wife, it was as if there was a new surge of energy. I’ve never felt such newfound drive, ever.”

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Anatoly Malykhin wants to provide for his family

Anita is not only Anatoly Malykhin's wife but also his manager in MMA. She even bestowed him the nickname 'Sladkiy.' Malykhin explained the meaning of this name:

“My lovely wife always calls me ‘sweetie’ (English translation of ‘Sladkiy’). And when she became my manager, she said, ‘I only have one condition: You will be my ‘sweetie,’ and in fights, you will be ‘Sweetie.’”

All of Malykhin's triumphs in combat sports have been driven by his wife and his family. He now has a son who he wants to make proud and give him the life he lacked. The ONE two-division world titleholder explained:

“I have a son now – I just want them to have everything. I want to give my son a life that I never had, so he can get a good education, so there is always delicious food on the table, so my wife can wear beautiful clothes, so she is taken care of, so she can drive nice cars."

Anatoly Malykhin concluded by saying:

“I’m so grateful for her. I love her an immeasurable amount.”

Earlier this year, Anatoly Malykhin captured the ONE interim heavyweight world title by way of knockout. Just this past weekend, he stopped Reinier de Ridder via first-round KO to capture the ONE light heavyweight throne. 'Sladkiy' is now looking for a heavyweight world title unification bout against Arjan Bhullar.