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World champion in two sports, Anatoly Malekin, believes that the lights of the big stage may be too bright for his compatriot Dmitry Menshikov.
The Russian stormed into the main event of ONE Fight Night 11 in his promotional debut last weekend, taking on the untouchable Regian Eersel in a bid to clinch his Muay Thai lightweight crown.
Menshikov, who entered the bout with an 11-fight winning streak, traded heavy whipping for the “Immortal” as soon as the bell rang. Unfortunately, the 25-year-old soon learned that there are levels to this game. Eersel caught him with a left crossbar to his forehead, crashing into the ring.
The challenger did his best to continue the fight on wobbly legs, but the referee conceded the fight after only 46 seconds into the high-stakes bout. Present inside the packed Lumpini Stadium, Malykhin was clearly disappointed, as he was rooting for his fellow Russian.
`Sladkiy’ told ONE Championship after the main event:
“The main battle always means a great responsibility. I think Menshikov could not handle it a little and did not manage his nerves.
What’s next for Anatoly Malykhin?
Anatoly Malykhin is, of course, no stranger to the limelight, having taken two teams by storm and already issued several ONE Championship cards.
The devastating 35-year-old has remained undefeated in a 12-game career and has finished off every opponent in his wake. While his power to end the world has served him well throughout his amazing career, Malykhin believes his strong mental determination is also the key to his success.
As far as the light heavyweight and interim heavyweight world champions are concerned, Menshikov can still learn from this setback and come back better than ever.
For now, Anatoly Malykhin will focus on his own fight, as he will finally share the circuit with hot rival Arjan Bhullar in a heavyweight unification bout. The winner of ONE Friday Fights 22 will leave Lumpinee Arena as the undisputed king of the heavyweight division on June 23.
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