Anatoly Malykhin praises comrade Ilya Freymanov following statement win at ONE Fight Night 11: “He’s in very good shape”

In attendance for ONE Fight Night 11, Anatoly Malykhin was left impressed by one performance in particular.

The double champion visited the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand to take in the event, headlined by the ONE lightweight Muay Thai world champion Regian Eersel putting on another clinic against Dmitry Menshikov.

Lower down on the card, Malykhin’s fellow Russian competitor Ilya Freymanov also made a statement with his victory on the night.

After having to battle through some early adversity against Shinechagtga Zoltsetseg, Freymanov turned the tables on his opponent, sending him to the canvas with a knee in the clinch.

After following up with some devastating ground and pound, he eventually found himself in position to secure the rear-naked choke for the first round finish.

Producing back-to-back finishes in the opening round, it was another great victory for the rising contender who will surely jump right near the top of rankings off the back of his performance.

In an interview with the South China Morning Post on YouTube, Anatoly Malykhin spoke about how he wasn’t surprised by his friends display in Thailand:

“Ilya is very good. He's in very good shape. He's a very good striker. I believe before the second round, probably in the second round, he would get done with the Mongolian [Shinechagtga Zoltsetseg].”

Watch the full interview below:

After taking in the action from the sidelines, Malykhin will return to the same venue to try and unify the ONE heavyweight world championships when he faces Arjan Bhullar on June 23 at ONE Friday Fights 22.