Anatoliy Malykhin Crushes Kirill Grishenko, Seizes Interim Belt at One: ‘Bad Blood’

No one worked harder at the most recent One Championship card than referee Olivier Coste, who drew the assignment for every match of the night.

BOOM Anatoly Malykhin knocks out Kirill Grishenko with a looping right hook to become the ONE Interim Heavyweight World Champion! #ONEBadBlood #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/ZxCmPd5ZYG

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) February 11, 2022

The One: ‘Bad Blood‘ main event saw Anatoliy Malykhin taking on Kirill Grishenko with the One interim heavyweight championship on the line. The interim belt situation arose following some failed contractual negotiations between the Singapore-based promotion and titleholder Arjan Singh Bhullar. Malykhin (10-0, 3-0 One) used his wrestling background to keep his opponent guessing for the first half of the opening round, as Grishenko (5-1, 2-1 One) stayed light on his feet and landed from afar. Midway through the stanza, Malykhin landed a big takedown that allowed him to control his opponent from on top for the remainder of the round, although his offense was relatively limited.

Malykhin clipped his Belarusian foe with a snapping left hand right out of the gate in Round 2. The Russian chased his opponent down and swung wide, but Grishenko relied on his footwork to evade. Once the blueprint was lied down, it was just a matter of time before “Sladkiy” executed his plan. Before the fourth minute elapsed, Malykhin’s deadly right hook reached Grishenko‘s chin and knocked him senseless. The official stoppage time indicated 3:42. In the post-fight interview, it was announced that Malykhin had received two performance bonuses for his victory. Now, “Sladkiy” is set to face Bhullar for the unification fight somewhere down the road in summer.

Beautiful moment after their flyweight Muay Thai war #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship #ONEBadBlood | How To Watch: https://t.co/8tcbqWnJ2C pic.twitter.com/AIlIzky1D8

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) February 11, 2022

In the co-headliner, a wide array of elbow attacks elevated Jonathan Haggerty to a decision victory over former Lumpinee champ Mongkolpetch in a flyweight muay Thai clash. Haggerty implemented a high pace in the early going, attacking with elbows while mixing in jabs and left kicks. In his turn, Mongkolpetch retaliated with body shots that took their effect on Haggerty as the fight progressed. Whether the result of the body work or the pace of the match, the Brit began to slow in the second frame, allowing the Thai to take the initiative. In Round 3, Haggerty’s creative elbow-based attacks marked his foe’s face up. Both contestants looked fatigued as they dug deep to impress the judges and fight to the final bell. When it came to reading the scorecards, all three awarded the win to Haggerty. In addition to his second consecutive victory under the One banner, Haggerty picked up a $50,000 performance bonus.

Earlier on the card, Rui Chen (10-3, 6-3 One) outpointed Mark Abelardo (20-9, 3-4 One) on every scorecard in their bantamweight clash; in a 118-pound catchweight contest, Hayatun Jihin Radzuan (7-2, 6-2 One) notched an unexpected unanimous decision victory against the short-notice replacement Mei Yamaguchi (21-14-1, 6-6 One); Sung Hoon Woo (8-2, 1-0 One) stopped Yodkaikaew Fairtex (7-4, 3-2 One) with punches 18 seconds into their flyweight contest and pocketed a performance bonus for his work.

On the lead preliminary card, Danial Williams (4-1, 1-0 One) successfully debuted with the company by blasting former One strawweight titleholder Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke (12-7, 12-7 One) with a nasty liver shot that stopped the action at 1:35 of Round 2; at heavyweight, Dana White’s Contender Series prospect Dustin Joynson (7-1, 1 NC; 1-1 One) edged Hugo Cunha (6-1, 0-1 One) by a razor-close split decision; Heqin Lin (15-3-1, 2-1 One) outstruck Bi Nguyen (6-8, 2-5 One) en route to a unanimous decision; Odie Delaney (3-0, 1-0 One) submitted Thomas Narmo (4-2, 1 NC; 0-1, 1 NC One) with a rare hammerlock just 66 seconds into their heavyweight affair; the 145-pound Sunoto Peringkat (12-7, 1 NC; 10-7, 1 NC One) vs. Tial Thang (3-1, 1 NC; 3-1, 1 NC One) encounter ended in a no contest after Thang repeatedly kneed Perinkat in the groin, putting a stop to the match in under two minutes.