“Atlanta, I’m loaded” - Triple-champ Anatoly Malykhin shares wisdom with aspiring fighters in Russia before world title defense
Anatoly Malykhin knows that being in perfect fighting shape doesn't always mean putting his body through a rigorous training camp.
After laying out the foundation for his fight camp at Tiger Muay Thai, Malykhin flew to his home nation of Russia and met with the next generation of fighters from the Kuzbass region.
The reigning three-division MMA world champion shared his wisdom with the region's youth and gave himself a bit of a mental break ahead of his world title defense against Oumar 'Reug Reug' Kane at ONE 169: Atlanta.
Anatoly Malykhin wrote on Instagram:
"I am grateful that I have the opportunity to share the values of family, love, kindness, and joy with children 💪 Children are our future 💪 We had a meeting in Kuzbass, talked about important things and I told my plans for the fight in #ONE169 @onechampionship. @yodchatri thank you for all the opportunities 🙏 Atlanta, I'm loaded 💪"
Malykhin has been living full-time in Thailand for a few years now, but he often visits family back in Russia whenever he has the time.
Those short vacations serve as Malykhin's restart from the stress of fighting and keep his mental space as healthy as possible.
'Sladkiy', however, has to go back to battle mode shortly after his trip and solely focus on his preparation to defend the ONE heavyweight MMA world title against 'Reug Reug' on November 8 at State Farm Arena.
Tickets for ONE 169: Atlanta are available on Ticketmaster.
Anatoly Malykhin says he can always rely on his submissions if he wants to
While Anatoly Malykhin is infamous for his terrifying power, the Russian monster said he can easily submit anyone if he wants to.
The ONE middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight MMA world champion told Red Corner MMA that he developed his submission skills while training in freestyle wrestling in his younger years.
Malykhin is a Master of Sport in Freestyle Wrestling in Russia, and he said stayed an hour after his team wrapped up to train with other grapplers in the gym:
"Very easy. Guys came in when I was training in freestyle wrestling. We had training from 6 to 8 am, then grapplers came in to train. I would stay because there was nothing to do at home, I didn't want to go anywhere, so I would train with them, and they would show me moves. Just from staying behind an hour, I learned some submissions."