ONE Championship: Malykhin plans to become “Real Champion” with KO of Grishenko

Bengaluru, Jan 31: Anatoly "Sladkiy" Malykhin is on a mission to become ONE Championship's undisputed heavyweight world champion. In the meantime, he will have to compete against Kirill Grishenko for the ONE Interim Heavyweight World Champion at ONE: BAD BLOOD on 11 February at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

While Arjan "Singh" Bhullar still holds the ONE Heavyweight World Championship, the Russian juggernaut thinks he's the division's rightful king.

"I don't consider this belt interim. I will be the real champion. If the champion refuses to fight, then he is no longer the champion," Malykhin shared.

The wrestler from Golden Team was preparing to challenge Bhullar for the crown. Unfortunately, the fight got sidelined when the Canadian-Indian couldn't come to terms with his title defence.

Beyond the technicalities, Malykhin believes that Bhullar is scared to put the belt on the line against him.

"I was already at my peak. I was ready to destroy him for the ONE Championship belt," the heavyweight with a 10-0 mixed martial arts record expressed.

"I think that somewhere, mentally, this fear of being destroyed was passed to him. And at some point, he just broke. He doesn't want to fight.

"He is not a fighter. He is a professional, he has a decent record, but he is not a fighter. He is not ready to fight the best. And currently, I'm the best. He is just a chicken. This is all I can say about him."

With Bhullar out of the picture, Malykhin will compete against Grishenko, also undefeated after five career fights.

But while "Sladkiy" has the utmost respect for his future foe, the Kemerovo-based competitor thinks he has a substantial edge skills-wise.

"I see that Kirill is a good guy, a good fighter, but I'm at a different level in terms of skills and attitude. I think Kirill has no chance, with all my respect to him," he revealed.

Malykhin can identify some positives in the Belarusian's game. Still, he thinks they're not enough to end his undefeated run.

"I see holes in his technique. My coach sees them. It's not about underestimating Kirill. He is a good fighter. But, I will repeat, he is not the best. I'm the champion here. And I will be the ONE Championship champion for a very long time."

Both fighters pack powerful punches though they have a wrestling background,

However, "Sladkiy" predicted that he would be the one knocking out the combatant from Minsk.

"He has no knockouts. His strikes are weak. He lacks speed and timing in his striking," Malykhin stated.

"I think he said he could knock me out just out of fear. When he regains consciousness after my knockout, he will realize that his plans to knock me out were just a dream."

Once he dispatches Grishenko, Malykhin plans to dominate the heavyweight division, with or without Bhullar.

"Kirill will be knocked out. That's it. First or second round at the most."

"When I'm in the cage, I will show what I'm capable of. I will stage an eye-catching fight. I'm sure of that. Many will enjoy it. In the end, I will become a champion and rule the division for a long, long time.

"Let's forget about Arjan. He's already in the trash bin of history. Soon we will have a new champion."

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Source: Media Release