Anatoly Malykhin raves about Ilya Freymanov after ONE Fight Night 11: “Ilya is the next champion”

Reigning two-division ONE world champion Anatoly Malykhin was in attendance at ONE Fight Night 11 to watch his fellow Russians compete inside the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium.

Malykhin will be back in action on June 23 as he himself will step into the iconic venue for a long-awaited ONE heavyweight world title unification bout with reigning champion Arjan Bhullar at ONE Friday Fights 22. Before his return to action, ‘Sladkiy’ took in some of the action last Friday night, including Ilya Freymanov’s impressive first-round submission against Mongolia’s Shinechagtga Zoltsetseg.

Speaking with ONE Championship following the critically-acclaimed night of fights, Anatoly Malykhin dubbed Freymanov the next featherweight ONE world champion.

“Ilya is the next champion,” Malykhin said. “He was a little bit too relaxed during the first minute of the bout; he missed a punch. But then he came back, won the fight, and took home a $50,000 bonus.”

Ilya Freymanov wasn’t the only Russian fighter to score himself an impressive first-round submission. Earlier in the evening, ONE newcomer Mansur Malachiev stopped the momentum of Jeremy Miado, submitting the Filipino fan favorite, keeping his undefeated record intact and effectively shaking up the strawweight division.

In less than two weeks, Anatoly Malykhin will attempt to score another big win for his country. After capturing both the interim ONE heavyweight world title and the ONE light heavyweight championship in 2022, ‘Sladkiy’ will attempt to trade in his interim gold for undisputed as he meets Arjan Bhullar, the man that has been ruling the division from behind the curtain for more than two years.

Bhullar captured the world title in May 2021, scoring an impressive knockout against heavyweight legend Brandon Vera. ‘Singh’ will finally return to defend his crown, unifying it with Malykhin’s in front of a raucous crown in Bangkok on June 23.

ONE Championship fans in North America can catch ONE Friday Fights live and for free on the promotion’s YouTube channel every week. And if you missed any of the action, or just want to relive one of the most epic nights in ONE Championship history, the ONE Fight Night 11 replay can be watched anytime on demand via Amazon Prime Video in North America.