Anatoly Malykhin hopeful of rematch with Oumar Kane after ONE 169 loss
Anatoly Malykhin tasted defeat for the first time in his MMA career this past weekend at ONE 169, and now he wants to get right back to work.
“Sladkiy” fell to “Reug Reug” Oumar Kane via split decision last Friday, November 8, parting ways with the ONE Heavyweight MMA World Title inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Stadium.
Assessing his performance, Malykhin believes the nature of the bout took its toll on him. His energy was zapped and his output became obsolete. So as good as he thought he was, the Russian now knows he has room to improve.
“My hands and arms felt too heavy. I ran out of steam. I tried to take him down, but it didn’t work out,” Malykhin said.
“My body just didn’t respond the way I wanted it to. He won, so I’ll take that as a signal to train harder.”
Malykhin has risen to unparalleled heights in ONE Championship. He became a three-weight ONE MMA World Champion along the way – with all of his victories coming by knockout.
On top of that, given that the decision was razor-close, Malykhin is hopeful to get an immediate rematch after the new year.
“Absolutely. I hope it happens soon,” the Russian said.
Anatoly Malykhin venturing to Georgia for big comeback fight
Anatoly Malykhin didn’t get to the top of ONE Championship by taking the easy road. And after being served with his first loss in 15 professional fights, he isn’t about to start now.
Instead, Malykhin plans to travel to Southern Ossetia in Georgia to train with some of the greatest pure wrestlers on the planet to continue improving his wrestling repertoire.
Malykhin is planning to come back bigger, better, and stronger in the new year. And should he be granted a rematch versus Kane, he’ll be hoping to leave no doubts next time around.
