ONE Championship: Chatri says Anatoly Malykhin would finish Francis Ngannou 'very quickly' – and beat Jon Jones
ONE Championship boss Chatri Sityodtong says Anatoly Malykhin would finish Francis Ngannou "very quickly" – and would also beat UFC champ Jon Jones, albeit in a "tougher fight".
The 36-year-old Malykhin, who holds ONE's heavyweight, light heavyweight and middleweight titles, has admitted a fight with former UFC king Ngannou is his "dream".
Chatri was interested in signing Ngannou when he became a free agent last year. But, the Cameroonian-Frenchman eventually joined the PFL and will now face 2023 heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira.
On being asked if his own heavyweight king could beat Ngannou, Chatri gave the Russian a big vote of confidence. Here's what he said in Tuesday's ONE Friday Fights 81 virtual press conference:
"Anatoly is the best heavyweight on the planet by far. In other organizations, the heavyweight divisions are not as strong. Francis has very dangerous power, but no ground game. He's very limited in jiu jitsu. He's a blue belt. Anatoly is a monster on the ground. Former Russian national team wrestler. He’s a killer. So I would see that Anatoly would do a quick double shot, take it down to the ground very fast, and the fight would be over very quickly."
ONE chairman and CEO also expressed his belief that Malykhin would get the better of UFC legend Jones. He added:
"Jon Jones would be a tougher fight, but Anatoly is faster than Jon. Jon is longer, but Anatoly has better wrestling and more one-punch knockout power. That would be a very fun fight. Jon Jones says he’s going to retire after this fight [against Stipe Miocic], so he's at the end of his career. Anatoly is only getting started, he's very fresh. He’s finished everybody in front of him. He would beat both heavyweights quite easily."
Malykhin is set to return to action against Senegal's Oumar "Reug Reug" Kane in the main event of ONE 169 on Nov. 8. He puts his heavyweight title on the line at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.
Malykhin has won all six of his fights under the ONE banner in dominant fashion. He has earned performance bonuses in his last four bouts – two of them double the usual US$50,000 handed out by Chatri, who added:
"One hundred per cent, Anatoly Malykhin is the best heavyweight on the planet right now. He’s 14-0 with a 100 per cent finish rate. Very athletic and fast. He’s unstoppable. If I'm not mistaken, he hasn’t lost an MMA fight, even in the amateur ranks. He hasn’t lost in the pros, and he will fight anybody."