Anatoly Malykhin admits he’ll be rooting for ‘Buchecha’ at ONE Fight Night 13: “I like him as a fighter”

Reigning and undisputed ONE heavyweight world champion ‘Sladkiy’ Anatoly Malykhin is in town once again when ONE Championship returns to the historic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, this week.

ONE Fight Night 13: Allazov vs. Grigorian on Prime Video features a slew of compelling martial arts contests. But there’s one fight in particular the heavy-handed Russian knockout artist wants to keep an eye on.

17-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion and rising ONE Championship heavyweight mixed martial arts star Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida makes his highly anticipated return to action against Senegalese wrestling sensation Oumar ‘Reug Reug’ Kane at ONE Fight Night 13.

The event will be broadcast live this Friday, August 4, on Amazon Prime Video.

Speaking to ONE Championship in a recent interview, Malykhin admitted he has taken a liking to ‘Buchecha’, and says he has loads of respect for the Brazilian grappling legend.

‘Sladkiy’ said:

“One of the main reasons I'm going to ONE Fight Night 13 is to watch ‘Buchecha.’ I'll be rooting for him, I am not going to hide it. I like him as a fighter and as a person.”

Almeida has remained beaten in ONE Championship, going 4-0 since he made the transition from BJJ to MMA in 2021. Meanwhile, Malykhin has had an amazing run in the promotion as well, maintaining a perfect professional record en route to becoming the ONE heavyweight and light heavyweight world champion.

Needless to say, the two behemoths are definitely on a collision course, and could very well meet in the circle sometime in the near future.

Fans in the United States and Canada can catch all the action of ONE Fight Night 13: Allazov vs. Grigorian live and absolutely free on Amazon Prime Video.

Stay tuned to Sportskeeda for all the news and updates surrounding the event.