Anatoly Malykhin (12-0) just won his second belt in One Championship, sending opponent Reinier de Ridder (16-1) out of the cage on a stretcher to capture Light Heavyweight gold. “Spartak” added this to his collection alongside an interim Heavyweight strap. Across all MMA organizations, the 34-year-old stakes a claim for “Best Fighter of the Year” and aims to double down in 2023.
Anatoly was born in 1988 in Southwest Siberia. It’s a region that is not known for elite MMA fighters, a rarity in Russia. and still fights out of Kemerovo, with a small camp called Golden Team. His Grandfather introduced him to wrestling and he took numerous national medals home to his family. Medal-rich Malykhin then earned a Master of Sport in freestyle wrestling in college and transitioned to MMA when he was 29.
“Spartak” also known as “Sladkiy” (Russian for sweet) dominated his first eight fights on the regional scene. Then he graduated to Asia’s most talent-rich promotion, One Championship, and vaulted his way right to the title picture following two KO/TKO’s. First, in 2022 he captured the Interim Heavyweight title with a highlight reel KO. In the second fight of the year, he sent Reinier de Ridder (16-1, current Middleweight and former Light Heavyweight champ) to the depths of Mordor with a brutal right overhand to ground and pound knockout. In the new year, He will take aim at current Heavyweight champ Arjan Bhullar (11-1, 4-1 in UFC) who was injured in 2022.
Anatoly “Spartak” Malykhin | 12-0 | 6’0 265 lbs. | Age 34 | Reach 78” | Orthodox Stance | Fighting Out of Kemerovo, Russia
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