“Maybe twice in a row” - Anatoly Malykhin says he can defend all three belts but prioritizes defending heavyweight throne

Three-division ONE world champion has every intention of defending all of his belts but prefers to prioritize his heavyweight MMA world title.

After scoring another highlight-reel knockout against 'The Dutch Knight' Reinier de Ridder at ONE 166 in Qatar to claim the ONE middleweight MMA crown, Malykhin made history, adding it to his collection, which already featured both the light heavyweight and heavyweight MMA world championships.

With a series of noteworthy contenders making their presence felt at the top of the heavyweight division, 'Sladkiy' is aiming to put that strap on the line first.

"The first task is to live a decent life and the second task is to fight at heavyweight," Malykhin told ONE Championship. "Then I could fight at 102 kg, at 93 kg, and then again at heavyweight. Or maybe twice in a row at heavyweight?"

When it comes to defending his heavyweight strap, there is certainly no shortage of potential contenders. The only question is, which one will it be?

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Who will be the first to challenge Anatoly Malykhin for the heavyweight world title?

Over the last several months, three heavyweight fighters have stood out among the back, the most recent being Ben Tynan, a relative newcomer who made his second appearance for the promotion at ONE Fight Night 21. There, 'Vanilla Thunder' moved to 6-0 in his MMA career with a thunderous first-round TKO of Aussie standout Duke Didier.

Not long before that, Iranian powerhouse Amir Aliakbari scored perhaps his biggest win yet, having his hand raised against former ONE heavyweight MMA world champion Arjan Bhullar at ONE 166. Aliakbari has now won three in a row, making him, in the eye of many, the next man in line.

Then there's Oumar 'Reug Reug' Kane, a Senegalese wrestling sensation who has been stacking bodies since making his promotional debut more than three years ago. Though it's been eight months since his last appearance, fans are still marveling at his epic monster mash of a fight with 17-time BJJ world champion Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida.

Kane earned a unanimous decision victory, handing 'Buchecha' his first loss since making the move from the mat to the cage.

Of the three potential contenders, which one deserves to be the first to challenge Anatoly Malykhin inside the Circle?