Mansur Malachiev admits he had to dig deep to subdue Bokang Masunyane in drawn-out affair: “It took real strength”

ONE strawweight contender Mansur Malachiev raced to his second straight victory last week but admitted he had to dig deep to pull it off.

The 32-year-old Russian fighter defeated fellow contender Bokang Masunyane by decision at ONE Fight Night 25: Nicolas vs. Eersel II on Oct. 4 at the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

It was a win that took a lot from him, and he had the battle scars to prove it. But he was proud to come away with a victory, telling combat sports journalist Nick Atkin in a post-fight interview:

"Injuries don't really matter to me. My goal was to win and I was coming for the victory. My opponent was a very, very hard one, and it took real strength for me to overcome him."

See the interview below:

At ONE Fight Night 25, Mansur Malachiev had himself an intense back-and-forth against South Africa's Masunyane. But with his improved striking, coupled with his already potent ground game, he was able to outgun 'Little Giant', by and large, en route to the decision win.

The victory improved Malachiev to 13-1 in his professional career, and 3-1 in ONE Championship since making his promotional debut in June last year.

North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription who want to relive all the action at ONE Fight Night 25 can do so on demand.

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Mansur Malachiev wants another shot at strawweight champion Joshua Pacio after win at ONE Fight Night 25

Following his victory at ONE Fight Night 25 on Oct. 4, Mansur Malachiev wants a shot at the strawweight belts available, particularly that of reigning champion Joshua Pacio.

He made this known after he defeated fellow contender Bokang Masunyane by unanimous decision at the fight night held last week at the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

The Russian fighter underscored that he is up for the challenge either for the main belt of Pacio or the interim strap in the possession of Jarred Brooks. However, he voiced a preference to challenge the reigning champion to exact payback as well for the defeat he was dealt in 2023.

He said during the post-fight interview following ONE Fight Night 25:

"As I said, the belt is imporant to me. Brooks has belt, Joshua has a belt, too. I don't think that I lost last time with Joshua. I think that I won. But his hand got raised. Next time if I fight with him, I'll just make sure that it's easier for the judges to give me the victory. And I will just TKO him and that will be the end of it..."

Mansur Malachiev lost to Pacio at ONE Fight Night 15 on Oct. 6, 2023. They fought tooth and nail for an entire three rounds but it was 'The Passion' who was declared the winner in the end.