WATCH: Anatoly Malykhin unleashes pure unadulterated power in vicious knockout win over Amir Aliakbari
When Anatoly Malykhin first arrived in ONE Championship, it was clear he was going to be a big problem for the heavyweight division.
Like many of the top fighters in his weight class, the undefeated Russian brings a grappling game to the table that was proving to be dominant.
His debut win over Alexandre Machado showed that he was able to take his man down and finish the fight with strikes like he was accustomed to. However, it was his second fight in the promotion that really hinted at what Malykhin may be capable of.
He faced fellow heavyweight grappling specialist Amir Aliakbari back in September of 2021 when Malykhin's wrestling and striking would be put to the test.
Everyone in this weight class packs a punch, but it's here where the Russian showed that he isn't your regular heavyweight.
Thanks to his training at Tiger Muay Thai, his striking has come on leaps and bounds and against Aliakbari, he was too fast, too accurate and too powerful for the Iranian.
In just under three minutes of the opening round, he secured the finish in his second of six consecutive wins under the ONE banner:
Malykhin would eventually become one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters on the planet and now holds the ONE middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight MMA world titles.
This may be key for Anatoly Malykhin
The same keys to victory that Anatoly Malykhin applied in his win over Amir Aliakbari could be key in his next outing.
The three-weight MMA world champion will be putting his heavyweight MMA crown on the line against Oumar 'Reug Reug' Kane in the main event of ONE 169.
On Nov. 8 at Lumpinee Stadium, the grappling credentials of both men could end up canceling each other out.
Fortunately for Malykhin, he's done his best work in ONE Championship when the fight stays standing and he's going to have a speed advantage over his opponent due to the sheer size of Kane.
Just like he did against Aliakbari, using his speed could be his biggest advantage in this fight.