{"id":665526,"date":"2026-05-12T07:20:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T07:20:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/665526\/"},"modified":"2026-05-12T07:20:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T07:20:08","slug":"my-family-is-everything-anatoly-malykhin-finds-his-peace-ahead-of-world-title-rematch-with-reug-reug","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/665526\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018My Family Is Everything\u2019 \u2013 Anatoly Malykhin Finds His Peace Ahead Of World Title Rematch With Reug Reug"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former heavyweight ruler Anatoly \u201cSladkiy\u201d Malykhin<\/a> has always possessed a larger-than-life presence in the martial arts world, characterized by his energetic persona, social media antics, and devastating knockout power. But over the last few months, the Russian juggernaut has been noticeably more reserved.<\/p>\n

This Friday, May 15, a completely reinvigorated and reenergized Malykhin will step back onto the global stage to challenge \u201cReug Reug\u201d Oumar Kane<\/a> in a highly anticipated rematch for the ONE Heavyweight MMA World Title at The Inner Circle<\/a>. Members can catch the action exclusively on live.onefc.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The blockbuster main event represents a chance for the Russian superstar to reclaim his status as an undisputed three-division king, and he arrives with a profoundly clear state of mind.<\/p>\n

Following his first career defeat to Kane at ONE 169<\/a> in November 2024, the reigning ONE Light Heavyweight and Middleweight MMA World Champion stepped completely away from the social media spotlight.<\/p>\n

Instead of firing back with trash talk or obsessing publicly over the razor-close split-decision loss, Malykhin went home to focus on what truly matters most.<\/p>\n

When asked how his wife, Anita<\/a>, and his young son helped him bounce back emotionally from the heartbreaking setback, the Russian knockout artist explained that a return to his roots was the ultimate medicine.<\/p>\n

He told onefc.com<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201cMy family is everything to me. I didn\u2019t need anything special to recover. I just needed to be with them, and that\u2019s exactly what they gave me. Being together was enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

Malykhin has never shied away from wearing his heart on his sleeve, especially when it comes to fatherhood<\/a>.<\/p>\n

After experiencing a highly publicized setback, many professional athletes tend to place immense pressure on themselves to be a flawless role model. \u201cSladkiy,\u201d however, takes a much more grounded, authentic approach to raising his son and setting an example.<\/p>\n

The 38-year-old said:<\/p>\n

\u201cI just live my life. I don\u2019t try to be some special coach or a superhero for my son.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just his dad, someone who loves him and tries to live the right way. He watches everything and learns from that. I don\u2019t need to do anything extra. I\u2019m just happy to be his father. And for me, that means more than anything else.\u201d<\/p>\n

Malykhin\u2019s extended break from high-pressure training camps allowed him to fully immerse himself in life outside of the ring.<\/p>\n

While other fighters may have quickly returned to the gym, \u201cSladkiy\u201d found solace in slowing things down and shifting his focus elsewhere.<\/p>\n

Rather than agonizing over the loss to \u201cReug Reug,\u201d the Russian behemoth poured his limitless energy into building his family\u2019s future<\/a> and finding absolute peace in the natural world.<\/p>\n

He revealed:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a lot of projects going on. My wife is developing our bathhouse business, and I really enjoy riding my bike through the Altai [Mountains]. It gives me a lot of freedom and energy. But honestly, my biggest passion is my son. I love spending time with him, riding together, playing, and just being present.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn general, my main focus and my hobby is my family. We spend a lot of time together, we grow together. As for everything else, we\u2019re building our life, our bathhouse [business], our homes, and most importantly, we just love each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laser-Focused On Reclaiming The Heavyweight MMA Throne<\/p>\n

His family\u2019s unshakable foundation of love and support has produced a highly dangerous, laser-focused version of Anatoly Malykhin. <\/p>\n

The decorated veteran is no longer fighting with the heavy burden of a flawless, undefeated record weighing on his broad shoulders. He is returning to The Inner Circle as a hungry challenger with a very specific target locked in his sights.<\/p>\n

Despite the judges\u2019 scorecards in his first battle with \u201cReug Reug\u201d Oumar Kane, Malykhin remains utterly convinced that he is the rightful king of the heavyweight MMA division. As he prepares to step back into the fray to avenge his lone career blemish and make history once again, he leaves the grand debates about his legacy to the fans.<\/p>\n

He said:<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t see that fight as a real loss. I just want to take back my belt. It was given to him by mistake, and he\u2019s only been holding it temporarily. As for my place in history, I\u2019ll let the people decide.\u201d<\/p>\n

On May 15, the combat sports world will discover exactly what a recharged and refocused Anatoly Malykhin is capable of when the talking stops and the opening bell rings.<\/p>\n

Driven by the unbreakable bond he shares with his loved ones, the Russian behemoth is completely confident he will leave Lumpinee Stadium with that coveted 26 pounds of gold firmly back around his waist.<\/p>\n

And he plans to do it with his family right by his side to celebrate the crowning moment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former heavyweight ruler Anatoly \u201cSladkiy\u201d Malykhin has always possessed a larger-than-life presence in the martial arts world, characterized…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":665527,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[570],"tags":[64,63,786,785,85],"class_list":["post-665526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-fighting","tag-mma","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/665526","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=665526"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/665526\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/665527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=665526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=665526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=665526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}