"I'm so grateful to Rodtang" - Anatoly Malykhin says he felt at home playing with Rodtang in a celebrity soccer game

Anatoly Malykhin didn't expect to be competing in the past week where he attended ONE 167 to watch all the action go down inside the Impact Arena.

However, much to his surprise, he ended up putting his skills and athleticism to the test in an entirely different form of arena.

The dominant and imposing three-division world champion was asked to take part in a charity football game by his fellow ONE Championship athlete, Rodtang Jitmuangnon.

Immediately after his fight with Denis Puric in kickboxing on June 7, 'The Iron Man' turned his attention back towards the pitch for one of his biggest passions in life.

Even getting his opponent to join in on the action, the Thai superstar also recruited the undefeated Russian in order to add an extremely imposing figure to their line-up.

The two elite fighters helped contribute to a convincing win for the Fight Nights who play in the Idol League, a charitable event featuring celebrities.

Malykhin reflected on the experience post-match where he thanked the flyweight Muay Thai king for bringing him into the fold and the entire team for the kindness they showed him:

"I'm so grateful to Rodtang for the invitation. The attitude toward me in the team was like toward their own."

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Anatoly Malykhin may have found a new passion

Anatoly Malykhin was taken aback by how well he was welcomed into the team by Rodtang and his teammates.

Coming on during the second half, he was even given the captain's armband as they cruised to a 5-0 victory this past weekend.

Nobody is going to try and argue with the captain's decisions and calls when the man with the armband is the middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight world champion.

Malykhin was also extremely impressed by the skill level of Thai players on the pitch, coming away from the experience with a lot of gratitude.

ONE 167 is available to watch back in full for free via Prime Video for US and Canadian viewers with an active Prime Video subscription.