Malykhin grew up in the Siberian city of Kemerovo and built an impressive wrestling background: he earned the title of Master of Sport in freestyle wrestling, won bronze at the Russian Heavyweight Championship (2013), and gold at the European Submission Grappling Championship (2016). His professional MMA career began in September 2016 in Russian regional promotions, where he recorded eight consecutive victories, each by knockout or submission.
In 2020, he signed with ONE Championship and made his debut on March 5, 2021, with a TKO victory over Alexandre Machado. His rise to the absolute top was incredibly rapid: on February 11, 2022, he won the interim heavyweight title by knocking out Kirill Grishenko; on December 3, 2022, he captured the light heavyweight title by knocking out Reinier de Ridder in the first round; and on June 23, 2023, he unified the heavyweight title after a TKO victory over Arjan Bhullar. On March 1, 2024, he made history by also capturing the middleweight title—again with a TKO against De Ridder—becoming the first and, to date, only fighter to simultaneously hold three MMA world titles in different weight classes.
On November 9, 2024, he unexpectedly lost his heavyweight title by split decision to Senegalese challenger Oumar “Reug Reug” Kane. Malykhin then trained intensely for a rematch and reclaimed the title on May 15, 2026, at ONE Friday Fights 154 at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok with a fourth-round knockout. Immediately after the fight, he took off his gloves as a sign of his retirement, which was confirmed by the organization shortly afterward. He ended his career with a professional record of 15 wins and 1 loss.
Important nuance: Malykhin was sometimes called a “double champ” in the media, but this referred to his simultaneous possession of multiple MMA titles and not to a title in another sport. He was a pure MMA fighter with a wrestling base.
Russia
