Anatoly Malykhin is always willing to work with fellow Russian MMA fighter Petr Yan.
Yan is a former UFC bantamweight world champion who has fallen on hard times in his fighting career. The 30-year-old is riding a three-fight losing streak and needs to turn things around if he plans to regain a 135-pound world title.
Anatoly Malykhin, a two-division world champion in ONE Championship, is a good friend of ‘No Mercy’ and wants to see the world-class bantamweight succeed.
During a recent interview with ONE Championship, which was shared by a Russian media outlet, ‘Sladkiy’ had this to say about working with Yan to continue evolving:
Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more
“Yes, of course, and Petr has already come to the gym, and I'm sure that when he comes to prepare for his next fight, he will definitely come to the gym. He's a friend of mine, all doors are open for him and the green light is on.”
Anatoly Malykhin’s last three fights have had polar opposite results compared to Petr Yan. After starting his ONE tenure with two first-round knockouts, Malykhin secured the ONE interim heavyweight world title by knocking out Kirill Grishenko in February 2022.
Malykhin waited for then-heavyweight king Arjan Bhullar to return from injury, leading to the hard-hitting Russian moving down to light heavyweight. The decision to fight for a second world title paid off when ‘Sladkiy’ knockout out Reinier de Ridder to claim the light heavyweight throne.
On June 23, Malykhin fought Bhullar for the undisputed heavyweight crown. The fight ended in the third round when ‘Sladkiy’ secured a TKO finish to officially become a two-division world champion. The 35-year-old has solidified himself as one of the most dangerous fighters on the planet after establishing a 13-0 professional MMA record (5-0 in ONE).