“He’s got a solid jaw” - Anatoly Malykhin praises new heavyweight MMA kingpin ‘Reug Reug’ for absorbing his hard shots

Anatoly Malykhin has never faced an opponent he couldn't finish, up until he crossed paths with 'Reug Reug' Oumar Kane.

Admittedly, the Russian destroyer was impressed by the proud warrior from Senegal's unreal toughness to absorb the destructive nature of his power strikes for five full rounds.

'Reug Reug's durability played a big factor in his shocking split decision victory in the main event of ONE 169 last Friday, Nov. 8. That monumental upset marked the first loss of Malykhin's career, as he was usurped from the heavyweight MMA throne.

In an exclusive interview with ONE Championship after losing his heavyweight MMA world title, Anatoly Malykhin gave props to the new champ for taking some of his best hits.

"There was one left hook that landed nicely, but he took it without much trouble. He’s tough like that. He’s got a solid jaw, and he’s never been knocked down, so he can still handle hard punches well."

To be fair, 'Sladkiy' indeed landed some bombs on 'Reug Reug' throughout their tightly-contested 25-minute brawl.

However, at the end of it all, Kane kept his ground and outlasted Malykhin to claim 26 pounds of gold and bring glory to the entire nation of Senegal.

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'Reug Reug' says he bet on himself to defeat Anatoly Malykhin

The odds were no doubt stacked against 'Reug Reug' Oumar Kane at ONE 169. But to accomplish a feat that no fighter has ever done, he needed to tune out the outside noise.

Coming in as a massive underdog against the seemingly indestructible Anatoly Malykhin, 'Reug Reug' ignored the naysayers and simply put in the work.

The new ONE heavyweight MMA world champion said in the post-event press conference:

"People who are saying that actually, they don't really know me. I trained six months really hard for this, and I knew that I was going to beat him."

The full replay of ONE 169: Malykhin vs Reug Reug is available on demand for Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.

Watch the ONE 169 post-event press conference: