Anatoly Malykhin became the interim ONE MMA Heavyweight Champion on Friday night, handing Kirill Grishenko his first pro loss with a brutal second-round knockout.
The fight headlined ONE Championship’s “Bad Blood” event, which took place at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore.
An aggressive Malykhin chased Grishenko down for a large portion of the fight, pouncing forward with strikes. While many of these shots missed, one connected hard and put an end to the fight.
Malykhin scored with a clean right hook in the second round that completely floored Grishenko, causing the referee to immediately end the fight.
The win lines Malykhin up for a potential fight against regular heavyweight champ Arjan Bhullar, who earned the other heavyweight title last year. This interim fight was made after Bullar hit a roadblock in negotiations with ONE, per reports.
Malykhin now has an undefeated record of 11 wins, including three stoppage victories in ONE. He fought twice last year, defeating Alexandre Machado and Amir Aliakbari.
The fight on Friday night was Grishenko’s first loss as a pro. He had previously attained five victories, with two of them happening in ONE’s cage.
Haggerty Hands Mongkolpetch First ONE Loss
Jonathan Haggerty won in his return to ONE, defeating Mongkolpetch Petchyindee Academy via unanimous decision in a Muay Thai bout.
Haggerty had a strong start to this battle, although it became close later in the fight at Mongkolpetch picked up his output.
Haggerty was appearing for the first time in over a year. The former ONE champion’s prior battle came in late 2020 against Taiki Naito. That fight broke a two-fight skid that he had against Rodtang Jitmuangnon.
The win on Friday for Haggerty could potentially line him up to face Rodtang at some point.
This fight was Mongkolpetch’s first loss in ONE through five appearances. However, he is now on a two-fight losing streak, as he also took a loss on the Thailand scene late last year.
Chen Gets Nod Against Abelardo
Chen Rui scored a close win on the main card, defeating Mark Abelardo via decision after three rounds of action
Chen’s success in the fight came from his striking on the feet against Abelardo in the first and second rounds.
This fight was almost mostly a stand-up battle, although Abelardo was able to briefly get Chen to the ground at times. The few moments that this happened in the fight, Aberlado focused on landing ground and pound strikes. This was especially on display in the third round.
The fight put Chen back into the win column after losing twice in 2021.
Abelardo has lost three of his last five pro fights. He had a stoppage win previously, stopping Emilio Urrutia in 2021.
Radzuan Defeats Veteran Yamaguchi In Return
Jihin Radzuan picked up a big win in the next fight, defeating veteran Mei Yamaguchi via unanimous decision.
A large portion of the fight was in clinch positions against the cage. Radzuan was able to resist a lot of takedown attempts from Yamaguchi and kept active in clinch positions. However, Yamaguchi certainly succeeded with her wrestling at times.
The result surprised many, including Yamaguchi. She put out a statement after the fight, stating that she is “really confused” but also felt support from fans who thought she won.
Radzuan was making her return after over a year outside of the cage. She is now on a two-fight winning streak, with the previous performance being a win over Bi Nguyen in 2020.
Yamaguchi is now on a three-fight losing streak in ONE.
Woo Enters ONE With A Bang
Woo Sung Hoon needed just seconds to win his ONE debut, finishing Yodkaikaew Fairtex in the first minute with a combination of strikes.
Yodkaikaew first dropped in the opening seconds due to a hard right cross from Woo. The referee was quick to stop the fight after, stepping in as a few ground and pound strikes landed from Woo.
Woo was making his promotional debut after a 10-fight run on the Korean regional scene.
Yodkaikaew is now on a two-fight losing streak. His previous appearance came last year, where he lost a decision to Hu Yong.
Williams Stops Dejdamrong For First ONE Win
Danial Williams picked up his first ONE win on Friday night, stopping Dejdamrong Sor. Amnuaysirichoke in the second round with strikes.
A clean right cross to the body of Dejdamrong dropped him in the second round, putting an end to their battle. Williams succeeded earlier in the fight, hurting Dejdamrong on the feet and on the ground with strikes
Williams made his ONE debut last year, losing a tough split decision to Rodtang Jitmuangnon under Muay Thai rules. This fight was his first appearance in the promotion’s MMA divisions.
Dejdamrong, a ONE veteran, was coming off a win he earned over Douji Banma last year.
Lower On The Card
Bouncing back from his sole pro loss, Dustin Joynson secured a decision victory over Hugo Cunha.
Lin Heqin returned to the win column on the prelims, fighting to a unanimous decision victory over Bi Nguyen.
Undefeated heavyweight Odie Delaney won his ONE debut in just seconds, submitting Thomas Narmo with an arm submission from the back.
The event started with an unfortunate result, as a fight between Tial Thang and Sunoto Peringkat ended in the first round via no contest. The fight’s stoppage was ruled due to low blows to Peringkat, although greatly Thang consistently protested that he instead landed to the stomach.
Quick Results
Main Card (Bleacher Report App / Youtube) (7:30AM EST / 8:30PM SGT)
Bout 10: Anatoly Malykhin def. Kirill Grishenko via TKO, Strikes (RD 2) (Vacant Interim ONE MMA Heavyweight Championship)
Bout 9: Jonathan Haggerty def. Mongkolpetch Petchyindee via Decision, Unanimous (Muay Thai Bout)
Bout 8: Chen Rui def. Mark Abelardo via Decision, Unanimous (MMA Bout)
Bout 7: Jihin Radzuan def. Mei Yamaguchi via Decision, Unanimous (MMA Bout)
Bout 6: Woo Sung Hoon def. Yodkaikaew Fairtex via TKO, Strikes (RD 1) (MMA Bout)
Bout 5: Danial Williams def. Dejdamrong Sor. Amnuaysirichoke via TKO, Strikes (RD 2) (MMA Bout)
Lead Card (Bleacher Report App / Youtube) (5:00AM EST / 6:00PM SGT)
Bout 4: Dustin Joynson def. Hugo Cunha via Decision, Split (MMA Bout)
Bout 3: Lin Heqin def. Bi Nguyen via Decision, Unanimous (MMA Bout)
Bout 2: Odie Delaney def. Thomas Narmo via Submission, Shoulder Lock (RD 1) (MMA Bout)
Bout 1: Tial Thang vs. Sunoto Peringkat via No Contest, Accidental Foul (RD 1) (MMA Bout)
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