Anatoly Malykhin Expects Wins For Fabricio Andrade, Kang Ji Won At ONE Fight Night 16

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Two-division ONE MMA World Champion Anatoly Malykhin has always kept a keen eye over the ongoing events at ONE Championship. And the Russian is particularly excited for ONE Fight Night 16: Haggerty vs. Andrade.

"Sladkiy" plans to attend the historic card at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on Saturday, 4 November. He'll be watching closely as his training partner in ONE Bantamweight MMA World Champion Fabricio Andrade vies for kickboxing glory.

Andrade meets divisional Muay Thai king Jonathan Haggerty in the evening's main event for the vacant kickboxing crown. While many have stated that they believe the British star's prowess will control the contest, Malykhin insists Andrade's striking skills will help him become a two-sport ONE World Champion.

"In my opinion, the crucial quality Fabricio has that can help him win is his commitment to fight to the end. He is also physically very strong. Haggerty has never had such a physically gifted opponent," Malykhin said.

"I think Fabricio is much more gifted, specifically with his punches, and that will be his main advantage, besides his physique. Also, his punches are powerful."

Elsewhere, heavyweight knockout artist Kang Ji Won locks horns with Canadian newcomer Ben Tynan in a contest that has Malykhin watching closely. After all, both men possess the ability to end the contest quickly.

Tynan arrives in the organization with a perfect 4-0 slate. But over the course of Kang's tenure in ONE, Malykhin has developed a soft spot for the South Korean. He believes Kang is one of the most underestimated combatants in the division.

Malykhin sees Kang's lovable nature as often mistaken for weakness. But with knockouts over Paul Elliott, Amir Aliakbari, and Mehdi Barghi, "Sladkiy" thinks Kang can be a mainstay in the heavyweight realm.

The contest may well have repercussions for the rest of the division, and for Malykhin himself. But he has no qualms admitting who he's rooting for at ONE Fight Night 16.

"Yes, I love this Korean fella. He is a heavyweight from Korea, and he always knows how to knock out his opponents unexpectedly," Malykhin said.

"Kang is the dark horse of our heavyweight division. Everybody always thinks that he has the appearance of such a nice guy, a guy who can't hurt you, but in the end, he drops everybody. So I think in this fight he will KO his opponent."