Three-division ONE MMA World Champion Anatoly “Sladkiy” Malykhin quickly rose through the ranks by pairing his impressive wrestling skills with his concussive power.
The Russian star’s grandfather introduced him to wrestling when he was young, and the competitiveness of the sport kept his interest. As a reward for his success – which included national medals – Malykhin earned the honorary title of Master of Sports in freestyle wrestling in his homeland.
Mixed martial arts piqued his interest later in life, and the physicality and toughness he had acquired through years on the mats meant he took to the new sport seamlessly.
Boasting a perfect 8-0 slate, he inked a deal to compete in ONE Championship in 2021 and quickly became a breakout success thanks to his combination of ferocious skills and fun-loving personality.
After reeling off two crushing first-round knockouts to begin his historic promotional run, Malykhin met Kirill Grishenko for the ONE Interim Heavyweight World Title in the absence of divisional king Arjan Bhullar. “Sladkiy” needed less than two rounds to score another emphatic knockout and take home his first 26-pound gold belt.
As injuries continued to plague Bhullar, the Russian powerhouse made the move to light heavyweight to face then-two-weight ONE World Champion Reinier de Ridder for the divisional crown at ONE on Prime Video 5 in December 2022.
Malykhin crushed the previously undefeated Dutchman in the first round to become a two-division king, albeit with an interim strap to his name.
That changed at ONE Friday Fights 22 in June 2023, when he finally got his hands on Bhullar in a blockbuster grudge match for the undisputed ONE Heavyweight MMA World Title.
Once again, Malykhin simply overpowered his opponent, breaking Bhullar down over three rounds on his way to another TKO victory.
Malykhin then etched his name in the record books in March 2024 at ONE 166: Qatar. At the historic event, he defeated De Ridder yet again — this time for “The Dutch Knight’s” middleweight strap — to become the first-ever three-division MMA World Champion for any major organization.