"It was an amazing year" - Two-division king Anatoly Malykhin sees positives despite losing heavyweight crown in 2024

Anatoly Malykhin may have suffered a loss for the first time in his career at ONE 169, but 'Slakdiy' refuses to let that overshadow what he believes was a successful year inside and outside the Circle.

The knockout machine created history in his first appearance of the year, finishing Dutch standout Reinier de Ridder at ONE 166: Qatar to become the first-ever three-division MMA world champion.

From there, his sights was locked on moving back up to the heavyweight division to settle his feud with Senegalese powerhouse 'Reug Reug' Oumar Kane.

Though every sign pointed towards another crushing win for the Kemerovo native, it was Kane who grabbed headlines with a crushing upset of the three-division king to attain his spot as the heavyweight ruler.

Despite slumping to a first career defeat, Anatoly Malykhin remains in good spirits. He touched on his career over the past 12 months in an interview with ONE Championship this week, saying

"It was an amazing year. I'm grateful for every year and every challenge that comes my way in life. I live each day with happiness, and I'm thankful to ONE Championship and [ONE CEO and Chairman] Mr. Chatri [Sityodtong] for their work and attitude toward me. In 2025, I'll reclaim my title."

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Anatoly Malykhin blames himself for abysmal display against 'Reug Reug'

Though it's much easier for Anatoly Malykhin to point his fingers at several factors that led to his shortcoming at ONE 169, the Russian megastar isn't all about that.

Instead, the 36-year-old takes full accountability for coming up short in that world title tilt, as he told Red Corner MMA previously:

"He didn’t [land a heavy punch on me]. You should go there and finish the job yourself. Tonight, it was me who didn’t do the job. It’s my defeat and his victory."