It’s the same old story for the 34-year-old, who trains out of Tiger Muay Thia & MMA Training Camp in Chalong and lives full-time in Phuket. The undefeated Russian has racked up 11 wins, all of them finishes, including eight knockouts and three submission victories.
Even more impressive is the fact that he’s been able to do it all inside of two rounds.
“I can do everything, I can do wrestling, I can do striking. I’m a chess player, I’m the best in this game,” Malykhin said during an interview with reporters following the ONE Championship: Bad Blood event in Singapore.
But going into the fight, Malykhin was dealing with a nagging injury that may have stalled his plans a bit. He saw it as just one more thing to overcome.
“I had a leg injury and it affected me in the first round while doing the wrestling. Then in the second round, I felt my boxing wasn’t as efficient anymore because of the injury. But then again, I’m the best man, I’m a dangerous guy,” Malykhin said.
Malykhin was grinning from ear-to-ear during the post-fight interview, as the promotion awarded him not only the interim heavyweight title, but also US$100,000 (B3.2 million) for earning both the Performance of the Night and Knockout of the Night bonuses.
“The plan was to knock [Grishenko] out and that was the initial plan. It started with the wrestling because he shot and I took him down, then I started to wreste there, but for that, no one gives $100k, so I had to knock him out and get the belt, and get the $100k,” he said.
This was Malykhin’s fourth fight for the promotion, and he’s been able to run through some of the top heavyweight fairly quickly, all by knockout. He previously earned a shot at the heavyweight title against undisputed champion Arjan Bhullar (11-1) last year, but due to a contractual dispute between the promotion and the Canadian-Indian heavyweight, the fight never materialized. Instead, the promotion announced an interim title fight between Malykhin and Grishenko.
With the interim title now firmly in his grasp, Malykhin is set to take on Bhullar, who recently came to terms on a new contract with the promotion. A date for the ONE Heavyweight title unification bout has yet to be set, but Malykhin is not too worried about the prospects of taking on the other top heavyweight in the division.
“Arjan Bhullar, my baby chicken. No fight, no big heart. Come, fight!” Malykhin said during his post-fight interview inside the cage.
Despite a looming title unification fight against Bhullar, a decorated freestyle wrestler and former UFC fighter, Malykhin made sure to praise all the people who were able to propel him to the ONE world title, from his coaches at Tiger Muay Thai, including boxing coach John Hutchinson, to his wife.
“My wife is a great person. Before I met her, I was nobody, but then I met her and my life changed. Everything that happens in this fight life, she gives me this, so I’m always grateful for her,” he said.