“It’s just another stage in my life” - Anatoly Malykhin keeping his head up high after losing heavyweight belt to ‘Reug Reug’

Anatoly Malykhin's loss against 'Reug Reug' is just another setback for the Russian juggernaut to overcome.

After making history as MMA's first-ever three-division world champion, Malykhin suffered the first defeat of his career against Senegalese sensation Oumar Kane at ONE 169 inside the legendary Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

The loss not only relieved Malykhin of his ONE heavyweight MMA world championship, but it also brought his undefeated record to an end, moving him to 14-1.

Speaking with Red Corner MMA a month after coming up short inside the Mecca of Muay Thai, Malykhin was in high spirits and choose to look at the loss as another opportunity to come back even better:

"Yeah, damn it. Now there’s some work to do. F***! You can only guess how deep I used to fall, but I still managed to come back, found the strength to move forward. It’s just another stage in my life I’ll pass through without lowering my head neither lifting it up."

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Anatoly Malykhin vows to work on his wrestling ahead of ONE Championship return

While Anatoly Malykhin has an impressive background in wrestling, it proved to be his Achilles heel against 'Reug Reug' at ONE 169.

Determined to improve his ground game for the future, the reigning two-division ONE world champion revealed that he's enlisting the help of a couple of top-notch wrestlers, though Malykhin remained hush-hush on the details.

"I’ve already lined up some sparring partners – two of the best when it comes to both classical wrestling and MMA wrestling. One weighs 130 kg, the other 110 kg, and they’ll be joining me any day now. I decided not to fly home to avoid dealing with changes in climate and time zones."

No official details have been announced regarding Malykhin's return to the Circle in 2025, but the reigning ONE middleweight and light heavyweight world champion will have plenty of contenders lining up to take a crack at his remaining belts.

If you missed any of the action, ONE Championship fans in the United States and Canada can watch the ONE 169: Malykhin vs. Reug Reug replay on demand via Amazon Prime Video.