Three-weight ONE World Champion Anatoly Malykhin always has his eye on the competition, and he’ll be watching intently when a pivotal middleweight MMA battle goes down at ONE 168: Denver this weekend.
The Saturday, 7th September, event inside Denver, Colorado’s Ball Arena is set to be the biggest of the year so far for ONE Championship, and “Sladkiy” can’t wait to see how the tilt between former two-weight king Aung La N Sang and undefeated powerhouse Shamil Erdogan plays out.
Assessing how he thinks it will go down, Malykhin tips Erdogan’s decorated wrestling pedigree as the decisive tool if he can bring the action to the canvas. But the reigning middleweight MMA titleholder isn't discounting Aung La N Sang’s veteran skill and has him as the favourite the longer the action goes.
“If Erdogan manages to get a takedown in the first minutes and, most importantly, hold Aung La N Sang down, then the fight will go in his favor. But if Aung La keeps getting up, and if the fight drags on, then he will have chances in the later rounds because he has good stamina,” Malykhin opined.
“It will be an interesting fight! I think the one who imposes his fight plan on the opponent will win. Whoever comes out of this fight as the winner deserves a title shot against me.”
Erdogan and Malykhin have crossed paths on the wrestling mats before, so he knows how dangerous he can be.
The Turkish star came away victorious in that matchup, but “Sladkiy” insists the result would be flipped if they met under MMA rules.
He credits Erdogan for the skill and dominance he has showcased across his 9-0 professional record. However, should the 34-year-old take out Aung La N Sang this weekend and work up to a shot at his gold, Malykhin is confident he’ll send him packing.
“I remember Erdogan from freestyle wrestling. He won against me at the Yarygin Cup Rybinsk tournament. So, this fight would be a good rematch, now under MMA rules,” he said.
“He’s a good fighter! He has excellent wrestling and strong striking. However, his conditioning is not at the highest level, but his striking and wrestling are top-notch.
“A fight with Erdogan would go the same way as all my previous fights, and I’ll still have a zero in the losses column.”
