WATCH: Anatoly Malykhin sends Petr Yan flying with sledgehammer right hook
ONE light-heavyweight and heavyweight world champion Anatoly Malykhin has the power to send people flying, literally. In his recent Instagram story, 'Sladkiy' demonstrated his power with his close friend, former UFC bantamweight world champion Petr 'No Mercy' Yan.
Here is a screenshot of the punch:
The punch, even though thrown in a playful manner, had the pop of a wrecking ball slamming into a building. Yan went flying back like he's a child. 'Sladkiy' truly has the power to put anyone away.
If you want to see Anatoly Malykhin's devastating punches in action, watch his obliteration of rival Arjan Bhullar at ONE Friday Fights 22. The bout was a ONE heavyweight world title unification fight that also came in the heels of months and months of heated trash-talk between the two behemoths, and 'Sladkiy' brought the fire from start to finish.
Anatoly Malykhin went straight to his marauding style but this time, he fought patiently and picked his shots. Still, he repeatedly tagged Bhullar with his piston-like jab. It was quite clear that Bhullar didn't want anything to do with Malykhin's striking.
After Bhullar’s desperate attempt to survive in the first round, Malykhin continued his steady assault and blasted the Indian-Canadian MMA star with combinations from hell. Eventually, the heavy-handed Russian proceeded to break Bhullar's will and ended the bout via TKO in the third round.
After bringing the fight to the ground, ‘Sladkiy’ showed why he’s such a dangerous finisher and battered Bhullar with unstoppable ground-and-pound, forcing the referee to call for a stop to the match 2:42 into the third.
Malykhin’s third-round finish was a fitting exclamation point to a rivalry that started way back in 2022. After the win, 'Sladkiy' called out former foe and current ONE middleweight world champion Reinier de Ridder in perhaps an attempt to become MMA's first-ever three-division world champion.
ONE Friday Fights 22 can be viewed for free on ONE Championship’s digital platforms and on its official broadcast partners'.