Kirill Grishenko reveals boxing venture during his MMA hiatus: "To everyone's surprise, I won it"

Kirill Grishenko is set to step foot back inside the circle for the first time since his last appearance at ONE on Prime Video 1 in August 2022. After suffering defeats to Anatoly Malykhin and Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida, the heavyweight MMA contender has been working hard behind the scenes to come back better than before.

He learned a lot from those defeats, but one area he specifically looked to improve upon was his striking. In fact, as he revealed in a recent interview with ONE Championship, Grishenko even went and competed in a boxing tournament, where he came out on top.

Throughout his career, the Belarusian athlete has been known predominantly as a grappler, having made his way to MMA late in his career due to his Greco-Roman wrestling pedigree.

Grishenko reflected on his brief foray into boxing before he looks to implement his new skills on July 5 at Lumpinee Stadium:

"While I've always felt comfortable in wrestling due to my wrestling background, boxing was a new challenge for me. I participated in the Belarussian Boxing Championship and, to everyone's surprise, I won it. My coach, Konstantin Makhankov, wasn't surprised at all."

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Kirill Grishenko will look to put his hands to the test

When it comes to the heavyweight MMA division, every contender has got power in their hands and Kirill Grishenko is no different.

Improving his boxing skills will only make him more confident to strike with his opponents which, in turn, will allow him to set up his grappling more effectively. He will look to put this to the test against one of the division's most prolific knockout artists, Kang Ji Won.

Standing and trading with the South Korean power puncher may not be the best idea, but if Grishenko is able to land strikes on the feet, it will only make his wrestling a bigger threat.

ONE Fight Night 23 will air live and free in US primetime via Prime Video for North American viewers with an active subscription.