Anatoly Malykhin is a heavyweight prospect from Russia. Having started out as a freestyle wrestler, Malykhin became a bronze medalist at the Russian Freestyle Wrestling Championship in 2013. However, he was later banned for 2 years after he tested positive for PEDs.
Following his wrestling career, Malykhin turned his attention to MMA. As an amateur, he won the 2017 WMMAA world championships. In addition to his international success, he also won the Russian Amateur MMA Championships, beating former ACB champion Salimgerey Rasulov along the way.
Strengths
Athleticism
Despite not being the biggest heavyweight in the world, Malykhin is still able to manhandle his opponents and throw them to the ground with ease. The Russian also looks to be quite mobile on the feet although his fights rarely stay there for more than a couple of minutes. Malykhin has a quick shot for a heavyweight which allows him to take the fight into his comfort zone without having to open himself up to his opponents striking.
Grappling
On top of being a decorated freestyle wrestler, Malykhin has competed in grappling competitions in preparation for his MMA career. This clearly shows in the way Malykhin grapples in MMA, he is knowledgeable about positions and always looks secure half guard or side control. From there, he usually goes for a kimura. Should Malykhin’s opponent give him his back, Malykhin will look to control the wrists and unload with ground and pound. Even if the opponent is able to stand up, Malykhin rarely lets go of them and is usually quick to get another takedown.
Cardio
Although all of his professional MMA fights have ended inside the distance, Malykhin has shown the ability to keep a high pace for as long as the fights go. His style requires a good level of cardio as it combines high amplitude takedowns with relentless ground and pound. His grappling style is suffocating and does not let his opponents rest, should his cardio be as good as it has looked so far then he will have a high ceiling as a heavyweight prospect.
Weaknesses/Unknowns
PEDs
As previously mentioned, Malykhin was banned for 2 years from freestyle wrestling for PED use. Although this in the past, you still have to wonder if Malykhin is currently a clean athlete. This becomes a big question mark should he signs with the UFC as he intends to. Should Malykhin still be using PEDs, it is likely that USADA would catch him or he would have to stop using PEDs as a result of which his performance levels might drop. However, this is all merely speculation and it would be unfair for us to accuse Malykhin of PED usage because of his past.
Striking
More of an unknown rather than a weakness. Despite being 7 fights into his professional career, we still don’t really know how good Malykhin’s striking is. This is because he has been able to easily take down most of his opponents and keep them there. However, should Malykhin face an opponent that is able to stuff his early takedowns he will have to showcase his striking or risk his whole game falling apart.
Overall
Anatoly Malykhin is one of the most interesting heavyweight prospects not signed to a major promotion right now. His wrestling background combined with his grappling knowledge and athleticism make him a very dangerous opponent. The questions about Malykhin’s striking will need to be answered if he wants to establish himself as one of the best heavyweights in the world, however, I would expect a similar career trajectory to Curtis Blaydes, should he get signed by the UFC, with Malykhin being able to dominate sub top 15 opponents with his wrestling.