Friday’s ONE Championship heavyweight title fight has been expected to be a doozy for a while, and that was confirmed at the news conference.
Tempers weren’t exactly kept in check when three-division champ Anatoly Malykhin and Oumar Kane (aka “Reug Reug”) squared off for the ONE 169 heavyweight title main event.
Malykhin (14-0) got a physical reaction from Kane (6-1) in their faceoff, and after a few more physical decisions they had to be separated.
Former UFC middleweight champion and current ONE VP Rich Franklin thinks there’s reason to feel a buzz around the heavyweight headliner because Malykhin is back in the division and not down a weight class or two.
“It’s been a while since we’ve had a heavyweight title match, particularly with Malykhin bouncing around and the different matches he did in the different weight classes,” Franklin told MMA Junkie Radio. “This is the first time we’ve had the king in that division back again (in a while), so this is a big deal.”
Malykhin never has been out of the third round and has all 14 of his wins by finish, including two over former two-division champ Reinier de Ridder, who makes his UFC debut Saturday in the co-main event.
His dominance has led to him being a prohibitive 10-1 favorite at the betting window against Kane. But Franklin cautioned against counting out the 32-year-old from Senegal.
“‘Reug Reug’ – I’ll say this: I wasn’t a big believer when he came into the organization. I was like, meh,” Franklin said. “But each fight, he’s been able to close the gap a bit more and a bit more. I think Malykhin is going to be a tough opponent for him – a very tough opponent – so he’ll need to up his game because Malykhin is more of the complete package.
“I do believe ‘Reug Reug’ will have to rely on his wrestling more. But ‘Reug Reug’ is a super athletic guy, and because of his wrestling, he’s a bit more unorthodox with his striking – so that can oftentimes make bad fighters look good, as well.”