Anatoly Malykhin Regains ONE Crown, Retires, And Effectively Vacates 3 Titles

Anatoly Malykhin reached the top of the ONE Championship mountain once again but is hanging up the gloves after earning a redemptive win over a prior opponent. Malykhin ran things back to Reug Reug, and this time out, the former was able to halt the latter inside the distance. A fourth round striking-based stoppage saw Malykhin claim the heavyweight crown inside the ONE Circle once more.

The Russian combatant added this belt to his collection to once again ascend to three -division champ status, with Malykhin also holding the promotion’s light heavyweight as well as middleweight belts. ‘Sladkiy’ also netted a $100,000 bonus in the process, and Malykhin secured a measure of revenge after the man known as Oumar Kane bested him in their prior fight. Reug Reug defeated Malykhin on points at ONE 169 in November 2024 to initially claim the ONE crown.

Considering the trifecta of belts that Malykhin holds, this essentially vacates belts in three different divisions amid a landscape within ONE Championship where the discourse seems centred on MMA being far less of a prioritized piece.

Anatoly Malykhin retires in the ONE Circle, fans sound off

Anatoly Malykhin calling it a career in mixed martial arts shocked many, and several ONE Championship viewers had their say on this development on X.

@ChaelPSonnen18

“Well he is 38 yo and just avenged his only loss,correct thing to do”

@MoloneyBilly

“That’s perfect for ONE they ain’t interested in MMA anyway, gives them a reason to remove more fighters”

@MrKnight_gg

“LMAO Chatri gotta be crashing out”

@JNEW105

“One championship is f***ing doomed. That just vacated 3 divisions. DJ and now Anatoly are gone, they have no star power. They are DONE

@Nisanth_2711

“One is so cooked, I think this is where they call it off lmao.”

@robwetts

“The interviewers face turned pale as a ghost when he said that lmaoooo ONE mma is so done.”

@alazarusenvy02

“Funniest mma company of all time”