Malykhin Knocks Out Grishenko To Win Interim Heavyweight World Title
Anatoly “Sladkiy” Malykhin topped off a dominant performance with another earth-shattering knockout to win the ONE Interim Heavyweight World Title in the main event of ONE: BAD BLOOD.
The Russian finished Kirill Grishenko with a massive right hand in the second round of their mixed martial arts contest at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Friday, 11 February.
Malykhin had vowed to showcase his improved boxing in this bout, and it was clearly his intention to land bombs from the opening bell.
The Golden Team representative waded into his rival with looping hooks and right hands, though Grishenko managed to steer clear of most of that heat.
Still, “Sladkiy” continued to walk his man down with punches, before taking advantage of a kick and dumping the Belarusian to the ground, where he controlled the rest of the frame with hammerfists and short elbows.
In round two, the Russian slugger came out firing and looked like he might have the match in the bag when he buckled Grishenko’s knees with a left hook. He went after his foe and tried to finish, but the durable Minsk resident held on.
However, Grishenko wasn’t out of the woods, as Malykhin continued to charge at him with heavy punches.
The Belarusian leaned back to avoid most of them – but his head movement opened up a chance for “Sladkiy” to capitalize.
That opportunity came when Malykhin stepped in with a looping overhand right. Grishenko got out of the way, but with his chin up and his weight on the back foot, the Russian double-tapped and landed a devastating right hand on the button.
The shot starched Grishenko at 3:42 of the second frame, sealing a sensational knockout win for Malykhin – and earning him a pair of US$50,000 performance bonuses from ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong.
Now 11-0 overall, the new ONE Interim Heavyweight World Champion didn’t mince words when it came to reigning ONE Heavyweight World Champion Arjan “Singh” Bhullar.
“Arjan Bhullar, my baby chicken. No fight, no big heart. Come, fight!” Malykhin proclaimed in his entertaining post-fight interview with commentator Mitch Chilson.
