“There’s no way I would trade three ONE belts for a UFC belt or any other title,” the Russian fighter told USACHEV TV. “This is my road, the Lord God brought me here. Yes, at one time I had thoughts that it would be nice to try myself in the UFC, but I never had a mega dream to get into the UFC”
Malykhin also confirmed information that he is ready to make 84 pounds to claim a fourth ONE championship belt, this time in the welterweight division.
“I’ll do 84 kilograms easily. Racing at 93 kilograms, I didn’t wrap myself in a sauna suit and just by training and dieting I made that weight easily. 84 kilograms is no problem.”
On March 1 at ONE 166 in Qatar, Anatoly Malykhin took the ONE middleweight belt from Rainier de Ridder and became the first triple champion in mixed martial arts history. The title fight ended in the third round after the battered Dutchman refused to get up from the parterre and continue the meeting.
In December 2022, Malykhin stripped de Ridder of the ONE heavyweight title by winning the fight by first-round technical knockout, and last June, the Russian successfully unified the current and interim ONE heavyweight titles by finishing Arjan Bullard by third-round technical knockout.