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Anatoly “Sladkiy” Malykhin is taking the first defeat of his professional MMA career in stride.
On November 8, the Russian superstar suffered a surprising decision loss to Senegalese powerhouse “Reug Reug” Oumar Kane in the main event of ONE 169, dropping his ONE Heavyweight MMA World Title in the process.
Malykhin entered the contest with a pristine 14-0 record and a 100 percent finishing rate. And as the first simultaneous three-division MMA World Champion in history, he was considered one of the most dominant and dangerous athletes to ever lace up the 4-ounce gloves.
The loss to “Reug Reug” was understandably devastating, but “Sladkiy” was quick to humbly admit that, despite a strong camp and meticulous preparations, he didn’t perform at his best.
He told onefc.com:
“The training camp was solid. We trained well and did everything as planned, but on the day of the fight, I just didn’t feel physically at 100 percent.
“Sometimes it’s hard to explain, but my body just wasn’t right that morning. It was his day. He’s a strong guy, and he did his job well.”
In all of his previous fights, Malykhin employed his world-class wrestling attack and vicious boxing game to overwhelm his opponents and drown them in offense.
That wasn’t the case against the incredibly powerful “Reug Reug.” The Russian said that he felt sluggish and tired on fight day – but vowed to remedy those shortcomings moving forward:
“My hands and arms felt too heavy. I ran out of steam. I tried to take him down, but it didn’t work out. My body just didn’t respond the way I wanted it to. He won, so I’ll take that as a signal to train harder.”
Indeed, Malykhin – who still holds the ONE Middleweight and Light Heavyweight MMA World Titles – is already making specific plans to improve his physical conditioning and overall wrestling skills.
He and his team will also carefully study his loss at ONE 169 and get right to work on fixing any strategic errors:
“I’m starting again [now]. I’ll be doing wrestling, boxing, and definitely adding some strength training. My legs feel weaker from moving up and down between weight classes, so I need to work on that. I think I need to focus more on wrestling, too. I’m planning to go to Southern Ossetia to train with some heavyweight freestyle wrestlers. There are a lot of top-tier athletes there, and I think it’ll help me sharpen my skills.
“But first, I’ll watch the fight closely again with my team. We’ll analyze my mistakes and make adjustments where needed.”
Not one to wallow in defeat, Anatoly Malykhin is already eyeing a potential World Title rematch against “Reug Reug” Oumar Kane.
While there is nothing set in stone, “Sladkiy” hopes to lock horns with the Senegalese powerhouse in the coming months:
“I hope [the rematch] happens soon, but it isn’t confirmed yet. It’s still about 50-50.”
In the weeks and months preceding their showdown at ONE 169, Malykhin and “Reug Reug” traded barbs on social media, building bad blood. And when they were finally face-to-face just days before the fight, the heavyweights nearly came to blows.
Afterward, “Sladkiy” said it was simply part of the prizefighting business, and while he respects Kane as an athlete, he remains determined to wrest back the ONE Heavyweight MMA World Title:
“It’s all about the sport, and our relationship is purely professional. His hand got raised that night, but we both still want to be ONE World Champions. We’re both aiming to be at the top, so we definitely didn’t become friends.”
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