Malykhin Demolishes Machado To Remain Unbeaten
Anatoly “Spartak” Malykhin said that he operates on a different level than Alexandre “Bebezao” Machado, and he proved that in his promotional debut on Friday, 5 March.
The Russian heavyweight star kept his undefeated record and perfect 100-percent finishing rate intact by stopping the former ONE World Title challenger at ONE: FISTS OF FURY II, which was previously recorded in Singapore.
Malykhin was able to get the tough Brazilian to the mat, trap him in the crucifix position, and unleash ground-and-pound until Machado tapped out from the strikes late in the first round.
After a simple touch of the gloves, it became abundantly clear that Malykhin wanted to get this co-main event clash over with immediately.
The hulking 33-year-old from Kemerovo quickly threatened Machado, putting him on the back foot and picking his shots. In return, “Bebezao” tried swatting him away with a jab and kicks to the legs.
However, the stand-up exchanges didn’t last for long. The 38-year-old Brazilian ducked an incoming right and went for a double-leg takedown, but Malykhin – a European Grappling Champion with a strong background in freestyle wrestling – saw it coming.
The Russian grabbed a front headlock, pushed the BJJ specialist down to the canvas, and circled around his body to secure back control.
Machado wisely crawled to the Circle Wall, posted off the canvas, and returned to his feet. However, the Kemerovo juggernaut maintained his grip, stepped to the side of his opponent’s body, launched a knee at his head, and snapped the Brazilian back down to the ground.
Although Malykhin was flexing his world-class grappling muscles, “Bebezao” returned to his feet for a second time. Still, the Russian stuck to his foe like glue, fired knees to the Brazilian’s right thigh, dragged him back to the mat, and rolled him onto his back.
After a failed sweep attempt, Malykhin found himself in side control – and he made the most of it.
He trapped the Rio native’s left arm between his legs, pinned down the right arm with his left shoulder, and locked in the crucifix position. With his free right hand, “Spartak” began landing clean punches and elbows on his rival’s exposed head.
“Bebezao” desperately moved around and tried to pop the Russian heavyweight off of him, but Malykhin’s top pressure was too overbearing.
The Golden Team representative even tried to finish the BJJ black belt with an Americana, but once Machado caught on, he abandoned that plan and returned to punching his exposed head.
The Brazilian tried everything he could to escape the dangerous position – he used his legs to move around the mat, tried kicking off the Circle Wall, and even put his head close to his opponent’s body to prevent him from dropping those lunchbox-sized hands.
But Malykhin was patient, maintained incredible balance on top, and landed clean shots. The damage accumulated, the punches took their toll, and it was becoming clearer and clearer that the Brazilian could no longer intelligently defend himself.
Upon seeing that, referee Justin Brown had no choice but to intervene and call off the action at the 3:28 mark of round one.
With the first-round TKO victory, Malykhin improved his professional record to 9-0 and emerged as a name to watch in ONE Championship’s heavyweight division.
The Kemerovo native will now carry a tremendous amount of momentum into his clash with Iranian sensation Amir Aliakbari at “ONE on TNT III,” which airs on 21 April.
Read more: ONE: FISTS OF FURY II – Full Results For Aliakbari Vs. Kang
