MMA star Anatoly Malykhin revealed he might consider testing himself in a wrestling ring if the opportunity arises.
The former three-division world champion lost his heavyweight throne in his last fight but maintains his ONE middleweight and light heavyweight world titles. His punching power has led him to victory 14 times in his career.
Seven of those wins have come in ONE, where he became the first-ever three-weight king in the promotion’s history. He stormed through former ONE World Title challenger Kirill Grishenko and former heavyweight king Arjan Bhullar at ONE Friday Fights 22 in June 2023.
He also became the only man to defeat former two-weight ONE World Champion Reinier de Ridder—first at ONE on Prime Video 5 in December 2022 with a first-round knockout for the light heavyweight MMA crown, then at ONE 166 in Qatar to earn the middleweight gold.
Malykhin also enjoys popularity for his grappling style and would make a strong opponent in a wrestling ring. When questioned about how he’d fare in wrestling, Malykhin expressed confidence that he could follow in the footsteps of fellow heavyweight Brock Lesnar.
“No, I haven’t thought about it. But I think I’d do alright. I’ve got a solid grappling base, I move well for a heavyweight, and I think I’ve got a bit of acting in me too,” he said.
“If they invited me — sure, I’d give it a shot. It’d be an interesting experience.”
Anatoly Malykhin last fought in November 2024, suffering a split decision loss against ‘Reug Reug’ Oumar Kane for the ONE heavyweight title.
