"I just didn't feel physically at 100 percent" - Anatoly Malykhin admits he just wasn't himself at ONE 169

Even the best athletes in the world can have a bad day at the office from time to time and this is what Anatoly Malykhin experienced at ONE 169.

The seemingly unstoppable Russian had been on an absolute tear during his time in ONE Championship where he had successfully obtained three world championships.

On November 8 at Lumpinee Stadium, it was time for him to defend one of them with his first challenge being a heavyweight showdown with Oumar 'Reug Reug' Kane.

The fight was a fairly strange encounter over five rounds and though the defending champion still had his moments, he didn't look like the same Malykhin that ONE fans have come to know.

When the dust settled, his opponent claimed the heavyweight title via a split decision, taking Malykhin's undefeated record in the process.

In a recent interview with ONE Championship, the former champ reflected on his defeat and said that though his training camp went to plan, he did not feel quite himself on the actual day of the fight:

"The training camp was solid. We trained well and did everything as planned, but on the day of the fight, I just didn't feel physically at 100 percent."

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Anatoly Malykhin will be back stronger from this setback

In MMA, you often learn more from your losses than your wins and though this result will be tough for Anatoly Malykhin to take, it's only going to make him better in the long run.

The Russian has a great team around him, not to mention the fact that he still holds world championships at middleweight and light heavyweight.

After looking at where they went wrong and how they can ensure that he's at his physical peak on fight night, Malykhin will be back stronger than before and that's a scary thought indeed.