Mansur Malachiev says Anatoly Malykhin and Demetrious Johnson tops his MMA GOAT list
Russian standout Mansur Malachiev has both three-division ONE world champion Anatoly Malykhin and ONE Championship Hall of Famer Demetrious Johnson on his list of the all-time greatest fighters in mixed martial arts history.
Malachiev hopes to one day be featured on someone's list of MMA GOATs, but first, the top-five ranked strawweight contender will have to prove his mettle against one of the division's best—Bokang Masunyane.
With both fighters vying for a shot at the strawweight MMA world title, Malachiev and Masunyane will meet in a high-stakes scrap at ONE Fight Night 25 on Prime Video this Friday night, October 4.
Ahead of their highly anticipated showdown inside the legendary Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Malachiev shared who he believes are some of the best fighters in the history of the sport.
He told ONE Championship:
"MMA is developing fast and there are so many good fighters today, but I would definitely vote for Anatoly Malykhin, Magomed Ankalaev, and Demetrious Johnson."
Currently, Anatoly Malykhin holds the ONE middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight MMA world championships, while 'Mighty Mouse' recently announced his retirement from MMA, laying down his ONE flyweight MMA world title moments before becoming the first inductee into the ONE Championship Hall of Fame.
Mansur Malachiev faces a tough test int he well-rounded Bokang Masunyane at ONE Fight Night 25
While Mansur Malachiev has a ways to go before he finds himself in the GOAT conversation, he's off to a pretty damn good start.
Making his way to ONE Championship with a perfect 10-1 record, the fifth-ranked strawweight contender has won two out of three inside the Circle, including noteworthy wins over Jeremy Miado and Yosuke Saruta. In fact, his only career loss thus far came against the promotion's undisputed ONE strawweight MMA world champion, Joshua Pacio.
Malachiev hopes to run it back with 'The Passion,' but to do so, he'll have to get past a well-rounded 'Little Giant' in Bokang Masunyane.
Who gets their hands raised and moves one step closer to a shot at 26 pounds of strawweight gold this Friday night?
ONE Fight Night 25 will air live via Amazon Prime Video in the United States and Canada on Friday, October 4 in U.S. primetime.