Anatoly Malykhin says he won't go easy on 'Buchecha' in potential heavyweight clash: "I smash him"

Anatoly Malykhin has immense respect for Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida, but he’s more than prepared to smash the 17-time BJJ world champion in a potential ONE heavyweight world title fight.

‘Sladkiy’ returned to action at ONE Friday Fights 22 for a long-awaited ONE heavyweight world championship unification bout with division rival Arjan Bhullar. Malykhin needed less than three rounds to dispatch Bhullar by TKO, capturing the unified heavyweight world title. Now the undisputed king of the division, the Russian juggernaut is looking ahead to his first potential challenger.

Enter Marcus Almeida, an undefeated heavyweight inside the circle with four-straight first-round finishes. ‘Buchecha’ will be back in action on August 4 as he is set to square off with heavyweight knockout artist Oumar ‘Reug Reug’ Kane at ONE Fight Night 13. Though no official confirmation has been made, the bout is likely to serve as a heavyweight world title eliminator.

Discussing the possibility of squaring off with ‘Buchecha’ in his first heavyweight world title defense, Anatoly Malykhin said:

“I respect Buchecha. He’s a very good fighter, he’s a legend in jiu-jitsu, but I smash him.”

Before Malykhin starts plotting his next move at heavyweight, ‘Sladkiy’ is determined to make history by becoming the first-ever three-division world champion in MMA history. To do that, he will need to go through a man he has already beaten inside the circle, Reinier de Ridder.

Whether or not that fight happens remains to be seen. But with his recent success, it’s hard to imagine ONE Championship denying Malykhin the opportunity to make history.

Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America can catch all the action at ONE Fight Night 13 live and for free in U.S. primetime on August 4. And if you missed any of the action, the ONE Friday Fights 22 replay can be watched anytime via ONE Championship’s YouTube channel.