Anatoly Malykhin says he's made a promise to his family to go 20-0 in his career: "We made it a goal"

Three-division MMA world champion Anatoly Malykhin recently revealed a personal goal of his that he has kept secret until this point.

When the undefeated Russian sets his mind to something, it has proven to be very hard to deny him. He's already broken new ground in the sport of MMA by becoming the first three-weight world champion, which seemed impossible before he did it.

Malykhin will not be denied, but after achieving his dream of being a world champion, he has another goal in sight that will keep him around for a bit longer.

Rather than looking for an early exit from the sport while he is on top, he wants to leave behind a legacy. In his opinion, that means hitting a certain target for his undefeated record.

In a recent interview with ONE Championship, Anatoly Malykhin spoke about how building upon his current undefeated record is important to him at this stage in his career:

"Not just the first time. We made it a goal in my family to bring my record to 20-0. So now I have to defend my belt... four times. Until I defend it four times, I won't go anywhere."

---

Anatoly Malykhin will look to defend what is his

In his last four fights under the ONE Championship banner, Anatoly Malykhin has walked into every contest with the intention of securing a world championship.

He's done just that but after conquering three weight classes, the time now comes for him to defend what is rightfully his.

This begins on his return at ONE 169 on Nov. 8 when he returns to the heavyweight division.

Standing across from him at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, will be his first world title challenger, Oumar 'Reug Reug' Kane.

The two colossal athletes will go head-to-head for the heavyweight world championship in Malykhin's first test as a defending champion.