Anatoly Malykhin currently holds titles across three divisions in ONE Championship, but he’s still working to get his name out there more to a bigger, worldwide fight audience. The Russian mauler has built a reputation as a ferocious finisher with a perfect 14-0 MMA record. He doesn’t have a single decision on his résumé and only one of his opponents has survived past the second round.
While he’s arguably conquered every mountain ONE could throw at him, Malykhin remains open to other challenges, which includes his interest in a showdown against former UFC champion and current PFL heavyweight Francis Ngannou . Malykhin has called for a fight against Ngannou in the past, and it’s still a matchup he’d love to land if ONE Championship and PFL could someday come to terms on some sort of crossover event. While he has a lot of respect for Ngannou and the former UFC champ’s accomplishments, Malykhin likes his chances in that fight, especially after watching the Ngannou get flattened by Anthony Joshua in a boxing match back in March.
“I want to congratulate Ngannou,” Malykhin told MMA Fighting through his interpreter. “Although it wasn’t his night, he made good money, it wasn’t [a lose-lose] evening for him. He got paid pretty good money.
“As for our potential fight, I can say that my strong points are that I move better than him and also I do great body shots. I think me on my feet would be a big problem for him.” Malykhin saw one moment, in particular, .
