“How could I have lost to a random guy” - Anatoly Malykhin realized early on he had to take grappling ‘more seriously’ in order to evolve

ONE heavyweight, light heavyweight, and middleweight MMA world champion 'Sladkiy' Anatoly Malykhin of Russia knew he had to work on his weaknesses if he wanted to take over the MMA world. And that's exactly what the 36-year-old Kemerovo native did to achieve greatness.

Today, Malykhin is one of the most dominant world champions in the sport, reigning over three weight divisions with an iron fist.

A knockout artist with 14 wins and no losses, with all 14 wins coming by finish, Malykhin is a bonafide action star.

Speaking to Red Corner MMA in a recent interview, the Russian phenom recalled a time when he took on some grapplers in a local tournament, and was painfully submitted. From that point on, Malykhin made sure to upgrade his grappling to eliminate that weakness in his game.

'Sladkiy' said:

"I hate losing. I tapped and my arm hurt. I realized I have to take it more seriously. I had a guy who wrote to me: ‘I was training and I lost. I have no motivation.’ It was the opposite of me. I got fired up. How could I have lost to a random guy? I was already at a high level in freestyle wrestling, and he just got my arm. So, I put more work in. The next time, I won in Siberia, Kuzbas, I was second in Russia, and I won the European Championship."

Anatoly Malykhin returns to face Oumar 'Reug Reug' Kane at ONE 169: Atlanta

Triple champ 'Sladkiy' Anatoly Malykhin will return later this year to defend his ONE heavyweight MMA world title against Senegalese wrestling sensation Oumar 'Reug Reug' Kane.

The two heavyweight behemoths lock horns at ONE 169: Atlanta, which broadcasts live from the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.

Fans in the United States and Canada can catch all the action live on Amazon Prime Video.