Anatoly Malykhin’s three-division kingpin status is no more following ONE 169.
Malykhin became the first MMA fighter in a major organization to capture gold across three separate weight classes earlier this year when he added the ONE Championship middleweight title to a trophy cabinet that already boasted the heavyweight and light heavyweight belts.
And after getting the better of Reinier de Ridder for the second time to accomplish that feat, the Russian behemoth turned his sights to defending his thrones.
His first attempt at adding a successful retention to his résumé came on Friday night at ONE 169, which he headlined inside the famed Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand opposite Oumar “Reug Reug” Kane.
The Senegalese wrestler entered the event as a significant underdog against the undefeated “Sladkiy,” but he overcame the odds to have the heavyweight strap placed on his shoulder after five rounds.
Kane started strong, making good on his pre-fight promise to take the Russian champ down. And Malykhin’s use of the ropes to fight his challenger’s smothering wrestling resulted in a yellow card from referee Herb Dean.
That ultimately proved crucial, as he fell on the wrong side of a split decision verdict to be relegated to two-division titleholder status at ONE 169.
During fight week, Malykhin had expressed firm confidence in his chances of brushing “Reug Reug” aside before turning his attention to PFL star Francis Ngannou in 2025, having taken issue with “The Predator’s” claim to global heavyweight supremacy.
But with Kane now on the throne, perhaps a door has been opened to a huge Senegal vs. Cameroon showdown down the line, should the PFL and ONE come to terms on a cross-promotional event.
Elsewhere at ONE 169, there were big wins for the likes of Kade Ruotolo and Jackie Buntan. While the lightweight submission grappling champion further showed his MMA promise by club-and-subbing Ahmed Mujtaba, the Filipino-American finally got her hands on ONE gold by outpointing Anissa Meksen for the inaugural strawweight kickboxing title.
Thai star Rodtang Jitmuangnon also had his hand raised after getting the better of England’s Jacob Smith for the second time. Unfortunately, his weight miss on Thursday meant he was ineligible to exit with the flyweight Muay Thai title.
