“It’s been nothing but hard work” – Anatoly Malykhin on his unprecedented journey to conquer three divisions in MMA

Anatoly Malykhin now sits atop three weight divisions simultaneously but while his run in ONE Championship has been a constant run of momentum, he acknowledges that none of this happened overnight.

Being a three-division world champion has never been done before and Malykhin did it while remaining undefeated but he puts that down to the days, months, and years of dedication.

The Russian behemoth is a physical specimen undoubtedly but none of this would be possible if he wasn’t a hard and tenacious worker behind closed doors.

Following his win at ONE 166: Qatar, where he stopped Reinier de Ridder for a second time, Anatoly Malykhin spoke about his training and relationship with his coach.

Malykhin said in the post-event press conference that he owes this victory to the last three years leading up to March 1 at the Lusail Sports Arena:

“It’s been nothing but hard work for the past three years. Every day Jonny calls me at 4am and says “Hey Anatoly wake up! Let’s go champ, let’s go!”. At 4am! He’s a crazy coach. I love this guy.”

Watch the full post-event press conference below:

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Anatoly Malykhin isn’t resting on his laurels

Anatoly Malykhin is not the kind of competitor that is going to take his eye off the ball now that he has made history as a three-weight world champion.

The triple champ has already spoken about taking a short break before getting back to action in a title defense against one of the contenders that are awaiting his return.

Malykhin’s hunger for success appears to be unsatisfied despite his incredible win and performance this past week in Qatar.

Make no mistake about it, Anatoly Malykhin may have reached new heights but he is still looking to build on it even further.

ONE Championship fans that missed any of the action from ONE 166: Qatar at the Lusail Sports Arena can watch the event back via the on demand replay.