Former ASA title challenger Adam Bogatyrev in a conversation with , he highly appreciated the skills of the victim of the first defeat in his career at heavyweight Anatoly Malykhina .
Russian Malykhin, 36, lost to Senegalese Oumar Kane, 32, by split decision at the One Championship 169 tournament. This defeat was Malykhin’s first in his professional career and deprived him of the championship belt in the category those under 120 kg.
— What is the level of Anatoly Malykhin?
— I worked with him a few years ago, in 2019-2020. Tolya is very cool. Suffice it to say that he won the Russian MMA Union Championship. And then there were still tournaments where real combiners fought, and professional fighters could still compete. I think he would definitely be in the top 10 best Russian heavyweights. If we talk about the ACA, where I fight, then he would also be in the top 10.
— Some say that Anatoly in One simply did not receive tough opponents and is a three-time champion in a weak league. Don’t you think Anatoly simply made the most of his skills in this way, investing his time and resources as efficiently as possible?
“I think he made the most of what was possible.” Even double the size. Let’s take all the big heavyweights of the ACA: all together, at least the Russian fighters, have not won as much as Tolya in four years. I don’t think he would have won that much in the UFC or ACA. And in League One, it has become easier for him to stand out: he has his own charisma, he has found his audience. I’m very happy for him, actually. I really envy him. In a purely nice way. He made a name for himself as an MMA fighter.
“At the same time, it’s funny that in the UFC one of the main tournaments of the year is now led by Stipe Miocic, who is 42 years old and hasn’t won since August 2020. Don’t you think not that Anatoly Malykhin could be stronger than Miocic right now?
— A very difficult question. I haven’t seen Miocic in a long time, so I’m not ready to answer. Moreover, yesterday’s Malykhin is not the same Malykhin who participated in the last fight. But overall I’m sure he could give him a good fight. It’s just that Anatoly does not have the experience of long and hard fights, difficult fights at a high level. But if we talk about their current form, then I could say their chances are 50/50,” Bogatyrev told .
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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.
