Anatoly Sergeevich Malykhin (Russian: Анатолий Сергеевич Малыхин; born January 11, 1988) is a Russian mixed martial artist and wrestler. He has etched his name in the annals of MMA history. Malykhin is signed to ONE Championship where he is the current Light Heavyweight World Champion, Middleweight World Champion, and the former Heavyweight World Champion. He is the first fighter in history to win major MMA championships in three weight classes and the first to hold them simultaneously.
A professional competitor since 2016, Malykhin has also competed for Fight Nights Global.
Let's delve into the journey of this remarkable athlete.
Early Life and Wrestling Career
Malykhin was born on January 11, 1988, in Kemerovo, Kemerovo Oblast, Soviet Union (now Russian Federation). He began wrestling in the fifth grade and won several youth championships. In 2013, he won gold at the President Cup of Buryatia Republic in freestyle wrestling and placed third at the Russian national championship as a heavyweight. Malykhin was later disqualified for two years because he did not appear for doping tests, which he claims was due to a misunderstanding.
In 2016, Malykhin competed in submission grappling, winning at the championships for the Kemerovo region and the Siberian Federal District to qualify for the All-Russian championships. Malykhin was the runner-up at the All-Russian championships, qualifying for the UWW European championships. According to Malykhin, there were no prospects for wrestlers in his native Kemerovo, despite the fact that the city had many good coaches and athletes.
Transition to Mixed Martial Arts
Malykhin made his professional mixed martial arts (MMA) debut in September 2016, defeating Ilya Gunenko in the first round. In May 2017, Malykhin competed at the Russian championship in amateur MMA, defeating Dagestani Salimgerey Rasulov. In October 2017, Malykhin competed at the WMMAA amateur world championships in Astana, Kazakhstan. Malykhin returned to professional MMA on November 3, 2017, against Reza Torabi.
Malykin won his next three bouts via submission in the first round against Michał Wlazło at Golden Team Championship 3, Magomedbag Agaev at Fight Nights Global 91, and Jake Heun at Absolute Siberian Championship 1. Malykin next competed on April 25, 2019, as part of Fight Nights Global 93, against Alexei Kudin. Despite Kudin's experience, Malykhin constantly imposed his fighting style on his opponent. Malykhin's last bout on the Russian scene took place on October 30, 2019. As part of the GTC 07 tournament, Malykhin faced Argentinean Lucas Elsina.
ONE Championship Career
Malykhin signed with ONE Championship and quickly made his mark on the global stage.
The unification bout between Malykhin and Arjan Bhullar for the ONE Heavyweight World Championship was rescheduled for March 25, 2023, at ONE Fight Night 8. However, the bout was removed from the event because of a shift in broadcaster commitments. The bout was scheduled on July 15, 2023, at ONE Fight Night 12. However, for unknown reasons, the bout was moved again to ONE Friday Fights 22 on June 22, 2023. Malykhin won the fight via TKO in the third round to become the undisputed ONE Heavyweight Champion.
Malykhin faced Reinier de Ridder in a rematch, this time for de Ridder's ONE Middleweight World Championship on March 1, 2024, at ONE 166. Malykhin won the title by TKO in round three after de Ridder did not get up, becoming the first three-division champion in MMA history as well as the first to hold three championships simultaneously.
Malykhin was scheduled to rematch Oumar Kane for the ONE Heavyweight World Championship on November 16, 2025, at ONE 173. However, Kane was forced to withdraw from the bout due to being involved in a serious car accident resulting in the cancellation of the fight.
Holland’s submission sensation de Ridder had been a two-division champion in his own right before Russia’s Malykhin moved down from heavyweight to fight him, taking his belt, and his undefeated record, via first-round knockout in a dominant performance. RDR welcomed Malykhin to his weight and so would be the smaller man once again. It was up to him to change the flow of the fight this time, enforce his grappling on the Russian powerhouse, and stop Anatoly from becoming a three-weight champion.
Malykhin hurt RDR with an uppercut early but de Ridder clinched up to stifle him. However, Anatoly reversed it and used dirty boxing on the Dutchman. Renier did not have much of an answer in the striking at first, but a leg kick took out Malykhin’s lead leg for a moment, two minutes in. Malykhin continued his assault, while defending in the clinch each time when RDR tried to entangle him there. His overpursuit on his big punches led to him often falling into that clinch, but he still damaged de Ridder on the way in. Anatoly’s body work was also effective.
Malykhin got right back to business in the second, damaging de Ridder early and defending a single-leg takedown attempt. RDR rolled to his back to play guard but the HW champ welcomed him back to his feet. De Ridder had stated that he wanted to drag Malykhin into deep waters, but the consistent body work of Anatoly made Reneir appear to be the more tired party as he got walked down. The double champ did not even appear tired at all when the third round started. He kept walking down the defending champion and stopping all his takedown attempts. One poor single leg attempt allowed Malykhin a chance for ground and pound, including a knee to the head. De Ridder tried and failed a hail Mary triangle choke, but Anatoly got out of it and told RDR to stand back up.
It was a struggle to wrap three huge, golden belts around even a man as big as Anatoly Malykhin, but in the end they did it so he could show off his historic achievement as the first three-weight MMA champion in a major promotion in the history of the sport. He declared his joy to the world, his appreciation for ONE Championship, and celebrated with his wife in his interview. Then Malykhin embraced Reneir de Ridder and told the world to respect him as a warrior, an elite fighter, and a family man in a display of good sportsmanship.
Triple Champ KNOCKOUT BEAST - Anatoly Malykhin
Achievements
- Performance of the Night (Four times)
- 2024: Ranked #3 Fight of the Year
- Won the interim ONE Heavyweight Championship
- Won and unified the ONE Heavyweight Championship.
- Won the ONE Light Heavyweight Championship (225 lb).
- Won the ONE Middleweight Championship (205 lb).
Weight classes
- Middleweight (205 lb) debut.
- Light Heavyweight (225 lb) debut.