Anatoly Malykhin renews call for third world title shot in special guest appearance at ONE Fight Night 12

Reigning ONE light heavyweight and heavyweight world champion ‘Sladkiy’ Anatoly Malykhin was once again ringside for ONE Fight Night 12 in Bangkok, Thailand, last Friday, July 14th, mainly to take part in fight week festivities, but also to send a message to future challengers.

During the event, the hard-hitting Russian mauler was invited into the ONE Championship ring to address fans in attendance at the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium.

Speaking to veteran ONE Championship broadcast analyst Mitch Chilson, Malykhin renewed his call to claim a third belt, which ‘Sladkiy’ has been eyeing for some time now.

The 35-year-old said:

“I’m coming Mitch, I’m coming for belts. I’m very thankful for what I have right now, I’m super thankful for my fans’ support for ONE Championship for giving me this incredible opportunity to shine over here. So soon I’m gonna be the champion of three belts and I’ll have them all with me.”

Malykhin is on an incredible run in the world’s largest martial arts organization.

He captured the light heavyweight world title via a shocking technical knockout performance over ‘The Dutch Knight’ Reinier de Ridder last December. Then he unified the ONE heavyweight world title late last month against Indian-Canadian star Arjan ‘Singh’ Bhullar.

Now, it appears Malykhin is going after De Ridder’s middleweight gold to add a third belt to his collection. Whether or not Malykhin will be able to cut enough weight to get to middleweight while maintaining hydration is yet to be seen.

Still, the fight is a fantastic proposition that could happen before the year ends.

Fans in the United States and Canada can catch all the action of ONE Fight Night 12: Superlek vs. Khalilov on Amazon Prime Video.