"My dream has come true" - Anatoly Malykhin reflects on his ruse to triple champ status in ONE Championship
Since stepping foot in ONE Championship back in 2021, Anatoly Malykhin has accomplished great things.
Every fighter who starts to compete in mixed martial arts dreams of reaching the pinnacle and becoming a world champion.
This was a feat that Malykhin first conquered back in December of 2022 when he stopped Reinier de Ridder to win the light heavyweight title.
He already held the interim heavyweight world championship at the time but beating de Ridder gave him the dominance that he craved.
From here, the undefeated Russian has gone beyond expectations by becoming a three-weight world champion.
Even in his wildest dreams, this kind of historic run couldn't have been something that he thought was possible.
Malykhin continues to break new ground and it's all because of the single-minded focus he has had for a long time.
In a recent interview with ONE Championship, Anatoly Malykhin reflected on his journey:
"So it has always been my dream, I always wanted to be an athlete and reach high results, become a world champion. And my dream has come true. Despite everything that happened in my life, I have made it and realized my childhood dream."
Anatoly Malykhin looks to continue this historic run at ONE 169
In his last four outings under the ONE Championship banner, Anatoly Malykhin has left each fight with a new gold belt wrapped over his shoulder.
After going on a belt hunter spree, the Russian, who spots a perfect 14-0 slate with a 100 percent finishing rate, is now set to defend one of his trophies for the first time.
He faces fellow heavyweight powerhouse Oumar 'Reug Reug' Kane at ONE 169 on Nov. 8 inside Lumpinee Stadium.
On his return to the iconic Bangkok venue, he'll look to stand tall once again as the heavyweight king by defeating a dangerous challenger and sending him back down the rankings.