Outside Source
Anatoly Malykhin attempts to reclaim the ONE heavyweight title when he faces Oumar “Reug Reug” Kane in a rematch in the co-main event at ONE 173, which is set for Ariake Arena in Tokyo on Sunday, Nov. 16.
ONE Championship officials confirmed the news to MMA Fighting on Monday.
The heavyweights are scheduled to clash for a second time after “Reug Reug” pulled off the massive upset to beat Malykhin and take his title when they first met back in November 2024. The fight played out over five rounds with “Reug Reug” securing a razor-close split decision, which served as the first loss of Malykhin’s career following 14 consecutive wins.
The win improved “Reug Reug” to 7-1 but he hasn’t fought since becoming champion.
Now the 33-year-old heavyweight from Senegal is set to run it back with Malykhin almost exactly one year after their first encounter.
Prior to his setback in the first fight, Malykhin was widely regarded as one of the two best heavyweights in the world outside of the UFC — an honor he shared with Francis Ngannou.
His undefeated run through ONE Championship also included capturing titles in two more weight classes while remaining the only fighter to beat current UFC middleweight contender Reinier de Ridder.
Malykhin defeated de Ridder twice between 2022 and 2024 with a pair of knockouts.
Now Malykhin has to attempt to right the wrongs in the first fight while “Reug Reug” attempts to solidify his standing as champion in the rematch scheduled for November.
The main event at ONE 173 is a featherweight kickboxing title unification bout as current champion Superbon defends his belt against interim champion Masaaki Noiri.
This article first appeared at MMA Fighting – All Posts
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