“When you hear something like that, it’s very encouraging,” the Russian fighter told Sports Illustrated. “Islam is the best fighter in the world regardless of weight class and I’ve been following him for quite some time. Khabib’s fights I’ve been watching as well. To hear that from Islam is an amazing sign of respect.”
Malykhin also stated that he believes that a fight with Francis Ngannou, who claims to be the strongest heavyweight in the world, is inevitable.
“Francis Ngannou will not be able to escape me. See you soon, Francis!”
Last week, Anatoly Malykhin, who holds the ONE heavyweight and bantamweight titles, took the ONE middleweight belt from Dutchman Rainier de Ridder to become the first triple champion in mixed martial arts history.