Two-division ONE World Champion Anatoly Malykhin will seek to reclaim the heavyweight title when he faces Oumar Kane in their rematch at ONE 173: Superbon vs. Noiri on Sunday, November 16, at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.
Malykhin suffered his first career defeat to Kane at ONE 169 last November, losing the heavyweight championship after holding titles in three weight classes simultaneously.
The 37-year-old Russian has used the loss as motivation for significant changes in his preparation and mindset ahead of their rematch.
"These are the two mistakes. The first mistake I made was that I was overthinking. I thought that 'Reug Reug' could do something supernatural. Everyone around me was telling me this. I didn't need to listen to anyone. I should have just done my job," Malykhin said.
"Second, I simply overloaded myself with too much. And with me thinking too much, I had too much volume of training that my body couldn't handle. I was thinking too much about everything."
Malykhin acknowledged that his success as ONE's first three-division World Champion may have affected his hunger and focus leading up to the Kane fight.
"Nothing is holding me back now. I've got the most important thing with me right now – the thirst and pleasure in enjoying what I do," Malykhin said. "Because in my recent fights, I was going into fights [in a rush], and that was my biggest mistake."
The defeat forced Malykhin to address the mental aspects of competition that he had previously taken for granted. He also spent this time building up his physical strength. Now at his peak both physically and mentally, he feels sharper and smarter.
Malykhin believes he has eliminated the mental obstacles that contributed to his first loss and approaches the rematch with renewed focus.
"With a better mind, now I have motivation. I have also become more disciplined, so I have no negatives. I removed all the negatives from myself that led to the loss. Now, I have one hundred percent focus," Malykhin said.
In fact, the Golden Team representative sees himself as a transformed fighter entering the ONE Heavyweight MMA World Title rematch.
"Now, I'm a beast. I'm a beast on the hunt. I removed all this [negativity] from my head, and I'm simply enjoying every moment again," Malykhin said. "I've been through many trials, and always, always found a way out. And, once again, all these will lead me to my belt, which I will get back on November 16."
