This Friday, Anatoly Malykhin has a chance to rewrite history—and avenge the only blemish on his record. The reigning ONE light heavyweight and middleweight champion is hunting a third title when he faces heavyweight king Oumar "Reug Reug" Kane at ONE Friday Fights 154, live from Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
For Malykhin, this isn't just another fight—it's personal. Back in November 2024, Kane handed the Russian his first and only career defeat, taking the heavyweight belt via split decision. Since then, Malykhin has been laser-focused on one thing: settling the score.
"I didn't finish him in the first fight, but I will finish him in this one," Malykhin said. "The biggest lesson? Don't leave it to the judges. Finish the fight."
That knockout power is no joke. Before stepping into the cage, the 38-year-old dominated freestyle wrestling, winning multiple gold medals. But it's in MMA where he's become a legend. He claimed the light heavyweight title in 2022 by stopping former UFC champion Reinier de Ridder, then unified the heavyweight belts a year later with a third-round finish of Arjan Bhullar. In 2024, he added the middleweight championship to his collection—again stopping de Ridder—and pushed his record to a perfect 14-0. His journey to the top began with an interim heavyweight belt win over Kirill Grishenko in just his second ONE appearance.
"You can't ignore my knockout power," Malykhin said. "I've finished all my opponents, and he's next. If he says he 'ate my left hook' and didn't feel it, there's a photo that says otherwise. His lips were flying about 20 centimeters away from his face. That's the reality."
Malykhin is already a pioneer—the first three-division champion in MMA history, the first to hold three belts simultaneously, and only the fifth double champion in ONE. But a win over Kane would cement his legacy as one of the most dominant forces the sport has ever seen. Don't miss the action live on Live.ONEFC.com as part of The Inner Circle card.
