The Sporting News’ Val Dewar sat down with ONE’s eclectic heavyweight, light-heavyweight, and middleweight MMA champion Anatoly Malykhin recently to talk about his upcoming fight, about Francis Ngannou, and much more.
Malykhin began the interview on a strong note, showing up in a shirt that would have looked right at home in the Middle Ages. He said, though a translator which he used for the full interview, it is the type of thing Russian warriors used to wear under their armor.
As the interview went on, the champ dismissed his upcoming foe Oumar Kane, better known as Reug Reug, going so far as to say that the Senegalese wrestler had fear in his eyes when locking gazes with Anatoly himself in the past.
Malykhin is convinced he will get a first round knockout, and seemed much more interested in discussing Francis Ngannou. He revealed that there has been talk behind the scenes about cross-promotion and he hopes it will take place in 2025.
The most unique piece of the interview came when he was asked about several white patches on his ear. He revealed it a device that his doctor recommended to him that gives him the ability to see what is to come in the future.
Malykhin’s proof for this claim? He is the only fighter that has predicted all of his own fights, allegedly.
Tone is often hard to ascertain when hearing someone through a translator, so it is up to MMA fans to decide how serious he was being in this moment.
Either way, Russia’s great champion has an interesting personality. He loves life and often gets excited, loving to laugh. Yet he is also humble, Anatoly said knows he is blessed to have so much success and also get to enjoy having a beautiful family.
His perspective on things, especially in the final few questions of the interview, was cool to hear.
Malykhin defends his heavyweight belt at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand during ONE 169 on November 8th, 2024, against Oumar Kane, aka ‘Reug Reug.’
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