Mansur Malachiev says having triple champ Anatoly Malykhin in his corner felt like being supported by his "elder brother”

ONE strawweight MMA contender Mansur Malachiev was grateful to have been supported in his fight last week by fellow Russian fighter and triple world champion Anatoly Malykhin, who he considers as his "elder brother." 'Sladky,' the reigning ONE middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight world champion, was in the corner of the 32-year-old Dagestani fighter for his all-contender clash against South African Bokang Masunyane at ONE Fight Night 25: Nicolas vs. Eersel II on Oct. 4 at the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Mansur Malachiev spoke about the presence of Malykhin in his most recent match, highlighting how the champion fighter also aided him in his preparation. He told combat sports journalist Nick Atkin in a post-fight interview:

"For me, the feeling is like I'm being supported by my elder brother who is always with me in the corner. He's not just a legend of the sport, but he's also my bro who is helping me everyday in my training."

Watch the interview below:

Mansur Malachiev had to go through the wringer against Masunyane but never lost his grip on the match, thanks to his vaunted ground game, which he coupled with his much-improved striking. The result was a well-deserved unanimous decision victory.

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

Mansur Malachiev admits to having his struggles against Bokang Masunyane during ONE Fight Night 25

Mansur Malachiev generally had control of his strawweight MMA clash against Bokang Masunyane at ONE Fight Night 25: Nicolas vs Eersel II on Oct. 4 but he admitted that he had his struggles throughout his showdown with 'Little Giant.'

He shared this in the same post-fight interview with combat sports journalist Nick Atkin, highlighting how Masunyane proved to be a hard nut to crack and it took a lot from him to hack out the victory, saying:

"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."

The win over Masunyane was the second straight for Malachiev after absorbing his first defeat in ONE Championship at the hands of now ONE strawweight MMA champion Joshua Pacio in October last year.