After a three-round fight between two Thai Muay Thai stars in the main event of ONE Friday Fights 34, the ONE Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight champion Anatoly Malykhin (13-0) explained why the league should hold a rematch.
Superlek, the ONE Flyweight Kickboxing Champion, became the first fighter to knock down Rodtang, the ONE Flyweight Muay Thai Champion, during his ONE career. The fight was close, Rodtang inflicted a serious cut on his opponent’s forehead, but nevertheless the decision was made in favor of Superlek.
“What I want to say about the fight between Rodtang and Superlek: these are two masters of the highest school of Thai boxing, who always give their all in the ring, sparing neither themselves nor their opponents, putting on a show , give knockouts that the public loves,” Malykhin said in an interview with ONE.
The battle Superleka And Rodtanga was initially announced as the main event of the evening, but as Superlek failed to make weight, he lost the right to challenge flyweight (Muay Thai) champion Rodtang. For an excess of 2.2 kg, he lost a bonus of 50,000 dollars and the fight was reduced to three rounds.
“This fight simply cannot be held in three rounds,” says Malykhin, “this is a crime against sport.” A fight of this level should only be five rounds.
After the tournament, ONE president Chatri Sityodtong said he would like to see a rematch between these fighters at ONE 165 in Qatar in December. Previously, he said that Malykhin could fight at this tournament. The Russian champion is closely following the fights between Rodtang and Superlek, but was not in Thailand during this fight. The following card could see these knockout performers from different weight classes end up on the same card:
– The next big ONE event is the ONE 165 tournament in Qatar. I won’t even look forward to my fight in Qatar as much as I look forward to their fight,” says Malykhin. — I wouldn’t call it a rematch, it’s a new five-round match for the belt. Let everyone gain weight – in such a fight there is no room for error, everyone must be professional. So we expect a five-round fight. Here we go, Qatar!
Live broadcasts of ONE tournaments can be seen on and Match! Fighter”, as well as on the sites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.
Source : MatchTV
I am Ashley Ortiz and I am a professional journalist working for Athletistic. My specialty is in sports journalism, particularly boxing. I have written articles for some of the most renowned publications on the subject, and my work has been featured across both print and digital media platforms.
