Chatri Sityodtong marvels at Anatoly Malykhin’s greatness: “He’s one of those special athletes”

ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong believes Anatoly Malykhin is special.

It’s a statement that is certainly hard to argue with at this point. After breaking out in 2022, capturing the interim ONE heavyweight and the light heavyweight world championships, ‘Sladkiy’ had the opportunity to trade in his interim title for undisputed gold as he stepped inside the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium for a world title unification clash against Arjan Bhullar at ONE Friday Fights 22.

It took the Russian juggernaut less than three rounds to get the job done, finishing Bhullar via TKO to become the promotion’s undisputed heavyweight king.

Speaking to the South China Morning Post, ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong marveled at the impressive stats that Malykhin carries on his resume, including an undefeated record and an unbelievable 100% finish rate:

“Anatoly is one of those special athletes you know. He's 13-0 with a 100% finish rate and nine KOs, right? In amateur [MMA] he was also undefeated,” Sityodtong said. “So he's actually been undefeated in competition. I mean, that's crazy.”

With two massive world title belts draped over his shoulders, Anatoly Malykhin is ready to add a third one around his waist. Following his second-round destruction of Arjan Bhullar, ‘Sladkiy’ called for a rematch with ‘The Dutch Knight’ Reinier de Ridder. This time, de Ridder’s ONE middleweight world title would be up for grabs, giving Malykyin the chance to become the first-ever three-division world champion in MMA history.

Once that goal is accomplished, Malykhin hopes to challenge himself against 17-time BJJ world champion Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida.

Which fight are you more excited to see?

If you missed any of the action, the ONE Friday Fights 22 replay can be watched anytime via ONE Championship’s YouTube channel.