It would be fair to say that three-weight ONE MMA World Champion Anatoly Malykhin has no shortage of contenders hunting him down. And the latest comes in the form of unbeaten heavyweight Ben Tynan.
The Canadian brawler earned his second promotional victory when he finished Duke Didier inside the first round to earn the sixth consecutive stoppage of his professional career at ONE Fight Night 21 this past Saturday, 6th April.
Tynan didn’t mince words when speaking about who he wanted next in his post-fight interview, as he took aim at the three-division king, who was in attendance inside Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, to hear the callout firsthand.
“We’ve got a middleweight holding the belt at heavyweight, and that ain’t cool. I’m calling out Anatoly [Malykhin]. I’m coming for you, man. It may not be next, but I’m coming, brother,” he proclaimed.
“He’s a middleweight. There’s not a middleweight on this planet that can beat me. I will whoop his ass.”
With three ONE World Titles to defend, Malykhin must keep tabs on new contenders across multiple divisions, and he sees the rise of “Vanilla Thunder” as a positive thing for his fighting future.
The Russian superstar gave his thoughts on Tynan’s overall persona, and he offered an interesting location, which ONE Championship will be visiting later this year, as a possible place for them to meet.
"I'm glad to see some new faces in ONE. A strong opposition is exactly what I need. I'm happy there are guys who are not only good in the ring, but also develop their own style outside of it. They definitely bring something unique,” Malykhin said.
“I'm looking forward to sharing the ring with him. I think America sounds like the perfect place to really put him to the test."
