"It's a 50-50 chance" - Anatoly Malykhin on the fence for seismic Buchecha-Amir Aliakbari clash
Before Anatoly Malykhin takes to the Circle this Friday, the Russian powerhouse will have his eyes locked on an important heavyweight tussle between Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida and Amir Aliakbari.
The heavyweight contenders go toe-to-toe at ONE 169 on November 8 in a three-round scrap that should be a gritty affair between two ground game specialists.
'Buchecha,' a 17-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion, will have to put in the work if he wants to return to winning ways against the brute force of Aliakbari's supreme wrestling game.
Anatoly Malykhin echoed a similar sentiment during his recent interview with Nick Atkin. Per the three-division MMA world champion, both men stand a chance at victory — but it all depends on who comes into this contest more prepared.
He shared:
"It's a 50-50 chance for this one. It depends on who puts in the work. They both stand a chance."
Watch the full interview here:
With a victory in Bangkok, Thailand, both superstars could take a massive leap in their path to Malykhin's ONE heavyweight world title.
Aliakbari may be the man in form, with four successive stoppage victories under the ONE spotlight. Still, 'Buchecha' is confident that he will have the Iranian's number when they lock horns on the November 8 spectacle.
Anatoly Malykhin suggests his truck-like right hand will be all the difference at ONE 169
On his end, Anatoly Malykhin hopes to continue his record-breaking run in the promotion when he defends his heavyweight gold against 'Reug Reug' Oumar Kane in the main event.
The One Chance Team and Tiger Muay Thai representative remains highly confident that he'll be able to sort out the Senegalese standout early.
But, just in case Kane is better than expected, he has gone the extra mile to sharpen his trademark right hand alongside striking guru and Tiger Muay Thai head boxing coach John Hutchinson.
Malykhin told the promotion recently:
"Boxing is something I work on every day, training to make sure that when I land that right, they go to sleep."
Catch the pair duke out in the main event of ONE 169, which will be available for free to active Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America on November 8.