Anatoly Malykhin says Tagir Khalilov must ‘fight until the end’ to upset Superlek 

Two-division ONE world champion Anatoly Malykhin knows his compatriot Tagir Khalilov will be a massive underdog against the mighty Superlek Kiatmoo9.

Then again, we’ve seen crazier things happen in combat sports, and ‘Sladkiy’ is not ruling out an upset in the main event of ONE Fight Night 12 this coming Friday, July 14.

Speaking with ONE Championship, Malykhin gave an honest response on what Khalilov has to do in order to snap Superlek Kiatmoo9's seven-fight winning streak:

“He needs to believe in himself and go all the way to the end, no matter what Superlek throws at him. Tagir has to fight until the end, and then he will win.”

Truth be told, Khalilov will need more than an iron will and sheer determination to have a chance against the seemingly unbeatable Superlek.

Good thing ‘Samingpri’ possesses dynamite in his hands, complemented by a masterful understanding of ‘The Art of Eight Limbs.’

After back-to-back setbacks in the Singapore-based organization, the Russian headhunter bounced back magnificently with two straight knockout victories against Superlek’s compatriots.

Khalilov took out Chorfah Tor Sangtiennoi in under a round at ONE 164 last year. He then floored the ultra-tough Black Panther with a wicked liver shot at ONE Friday Fights 9.

However, he’ll need to put on the best performance of his career since he’ll be sharing the ring against one of the biggest names in the Muay Thai world.

Superlek, the reigning ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion, is also coming off consecutive KO victories over Danial Williams and most recently, Nabil Anane.

Meanwhile, Malykhin already confirmed he’ll be in attendance at Lumpinee Stadium to support and corner Khalilov in the biggest fight of his promising career so far.

Let’s see if the double champ’s presence can inspire Khalilov to be victorious at ONE Fight Night 12. The entire event will air live on US Primetime free of charge for those with an existing Prime Video membership in North America.