The other day, the president of the One Championship league, Chatri Sityodtong, again called Anatoly Malykhin the best heavyweight fighter on the planet. Chatri assured that the undefeated Russian can not only move on to the UFC, but also record a victory over one of Dana White’s main assets, Jon Jones. And also to scalp the still terrifying monster Francis Ngannou in the PFL.
Anatoly Malykhin and Chatri Sityodtong
Photo: From the personal archive of Anatoly Malykhin.
“The fight with Francis is a very, very easy fight for Anatoly, because the styles determine the fights. Yes, Francis has very dangerous knockout power, but he doesn’t know how to fight and has limited skills on the ground. I think the fight with Jon Jones would have been tougher, but Anatoly’s strength combined with his athleticism gives him an advantage. He’s faster than Jones, he has better grip and more knockout power, more one-punch knockout ability,” Chatri said.
Well, many officials make similar statements when evaluating the potential of their fighters in a possible fight against the strongest representatives of the UFC. Words about Anatoly carry weight, however, as the Russian defeats everyone in dominant style and is now at the top of his form. These conversations are even somewhat reminiscent of long-standing debates about Fedor Emelianenko’s chances of being in first place in fights with Brock Lesnar and Cain Velasquez.
Therefore, today we will try to answer the burning question: Is Malykhin capable of defeating Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou? To do this, we need to analyze your skills.
Struggle
Today, the presence of fighting skills among MMA fighters is perhaps the main asset in fights. And Anatoly has this trump card. The Russian started wrestling at the age of 10 and now has solid skills and achievements there. In particular, Malykhin is a bronze medalist at the Russian Championships in the category up to 120 kg. At the beginning of his MMA career, the Russian’s game plan was based on wrestling dominance.
However, Anatoly did not create complex schemes for transferring opponents to the ground. His approach was as simple as three kopecks: take a couple of strong blows in the standing position to advance with one leg, transfer, go to mount and then start finishing or going to receive. Even basic fighters with decent experience, such as Amir Aliakbari, Kirill Grishchenko and Arjan Bullar, were unable to provide any competition to Malykhin in the fight, without landing a single successful takedown. This also indicates that Anatoly has decent protection against transfers. However, in recent years, the Russian has stopped working on the ground floor and now tries to finish his opponents on the feet.
No one can resist Anatoly’s pressure:
Malykhin makes history! Anatoly destroyed De Ridder and became the ONE three-weight champion.
Clinging
Malykhin is quite knowledgeable in this regard. It should be noted that in 2016 he was proclaimed European champion in this discipline. And after moving to MMA, the Russian repeatedly showed that he knows how to finish off his opponents not only with his fists, but also with elegant techniques on the ground. He has four wins as a professional by submission: two by submission and two by suffocation. For example, at the Fight Nights Global 91 tournament, Malykhin met with his compatriot Magomedbag Agayev, who was the world pankration champion. Already in the first round, Anatoly beautifully moved his opponent to the ground, after which he put himself on guard and performed a shoulder noose. Unfortunately, it’s been a while since we’ve seen a Russian finish with techniques. Therefore, based on his early achievements, it can be argued that in the fight he can cause considerable problems for Ngannou himself, who is simply not used to working on the ground floor.
Shelf
After moving to the Singapore League, Malykhin’s progress in attacking technology became evident to everyone. This was largely due to hard training with John Hutchinson, who is a former WBC regional title challenger. The Russian stopped focusing on wrestling and began working exclusively on his feet. There is no main combination that Anatoly uses in every fight. He likes to break with both hands, with each of which he knows how to finish off his counterparts. Although most of the time the Russian likes to throw a right hand. Malykhin, in principle, is not afraid to test the strength of his jaw with his opponents and is ready for exchanges.
Anatoly Malykhin
Photo: onefc.com
cardio and physics
At the moment, we haven’t been able to see Anatoly go five rounds due to his desire to end fights early. The highest he achieved was third place. And there he did not have a noticeable drop in cardio, only slight fatigue, inherent in most fighters. Therefore, it is difficult to draw clear conclusions about its resistance.
But physically, the Russian is one of the most athletic fighters in the heavyweight division. However, compared to other representatives of his weight category, he looks quite small due to his height, which is 180 cm. For reference, Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou’s height is 193 cm. This is a significant advantage that can become one. A serious obstacle for Anatoly in head-to-head fights with an American and a Cameroonian.
Height is decisive not only in basketball, but also in battles:
Volkov eliminated Pavlovich without a chance. And after the battle, the Russian heroes almost fought.
Mindset
The Russian is an undefeated fighter. He always finished off his opponents. You are confident in your abilities, but there is a danger that this turns into overconfidence. And this is already a vulnerability, due to which you can underestimate your opponents. However, at this moment Anatoly seems psychologically impenetrable, which is good news.
Based on the skills analysis, Malykhin actually has a certain chance of winning over both Jones and Ngannou. The American heavyweight has yet to prove himself a dominant force – he only has one fight left in the division. And the Cameroonian took a long break from MMA and is about to return after a tough knockout by Anthony Joshua. Therefore, a fight with a powerful and hungry heavyweight like Anatoly, who is a very well-rounded fighter, would be very difficult for any superstar at the moment.
