Anatoly Malykhin believes he is among the best in the world

Anatoly Malykhin has a chance to become a world champion at ONE: Bad Blood on Friday, February 11. He believes that he is already among the best in the world even without the belt.

Malykhin boasts an undefeated record and has finished both his opponents in the ONE Circle inside the first round of his bouts. In a recent interview with ONE Championship, he was asked where he sees himself compared to the best fighters in the world. He answered:

“I put myself in the same line as the best fighters in the world. I’m the fastest, and my functionality, you know. Training has been advanced and I have the best of wrestling and now I have the best of boxing and Thai boxing that I’m trying to improve as well. So again, I believe that I'm the one row with the best fighters in the world.”

‘Sladkiy’ also expressed his appreciation for the opportunity to compete against a tough fighter like Kirill Grishenko. He said:

“Kirill, currently, he is the strongest fighter I am going to fight and he can take a lot of hits. Other fighters have denied, but Kirill agreed to fight me, so big, big respect to him.”

Malykhin and Grishenko are set to square off in the co-main of ONE: Bad Blood this weekend for the interim heavyweight world championship. The winner is slated to take on Arjan Bhullar, the reigning champion.

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Kirill Grishenko brushes off Anatoly Malykhin’s confidence

Kirill Grishenko's demeanor during fight week has been a complete contrast to that of Anatoly Malykhin. Grishenko remains reserved with his predictions and lets Malykhin go about with his bold claims.

When asked what he thinks about his opponent’s confidence and weaknesses, Grishenko had this to say:

“Every fighter expresses his confidence in different ways. Everyone is actually trying to be confident before the fight. About his weaknesses, I see him as a very strong fighter. He doesn’t have any weaknesses, but I was getting ready. During my long camp, I was having sparring partners similar to Anatoly’s style and I don’t like to predict, but let’s see what would happen in the upcoming fight.”

Through five professional MMA bouts, Grishenko has shown that he has devastating power in his strikes. The undefeated Belarusian has an elite wrestling background similar to Malykhin, which could be showcased by both fighters in their upcoming world title clash.

Will we see an explosive finish, or will it be a five-round war that pushes both fighters to their limit?