Anatoly Malykhin regained the ONE heavyweight championship with a fourth-round knockout of Oumar Kane, better known as Reug Reug, at ONE Friday Fights 154 inside Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
Malykhin avenged the only loss of his professional MMA career 18 months after their first fight. Kane beat him by split decision at ONE 169 in November 2024 to take the heavyweight title, then lost the rematch by knockout in round four. The result moved Malykhin to 15-1 and dropped Kane to 7-2.
The rematch started slowly. Kane spent long stretches backing toward the ropes and waiting for Malykhin to enter, which led to hand fighting and limited clean offense early. Malykhin began finding range in the third round. In round four, he dropped Kane with a right hand, crumpled the champion, and followed with heavy punches until the referee stopped the fight.
Watch the finish below:
Anatoly Malykhin KO4 Reug Reug pic.twitter.com/4G5HigTuyT
— Neo Vale Tudo (@NeoValeTudo) May 15, 2026
Post-KO Kicks Trigger Team Brawl After Malykhin Finish
The referee stoppage was followed by a corner confrontation.
Malykhin landed extra kicks toward Kane while Kane was still down after the knockout sequence. Kane’s corner reacted and moved toward Malykhin. Malykhin’s team entered the ring, and members of both corners briefly shoved and swung at each other before officials separated them.
Malykhin appeared to step back into the middle of the clash and tried to calm the situation after both teams rushed in.
Watch the post-fight scene below:
🇷🇺 Anatoly Malykhin knocks out Reug Reug – and then chaos erupts as their two teams break out into BRAWL in the ring at Lumpinee Stadium 😮 #ONEChampionship #TheInnerCircle pic.twitter.com/jtUnmpYLFi
— Nick Atkin (@nickatkinone) May 15, 2026
The win put Malykhin back on top of ONE’s heavyweight division after losing the belt to Kane in their first fight. Malykhin’s championship résumé already included ONE title wins at heavyweight, light heavyweight, and middleweight. He was the first fighter to hold major MMA championships in three weight classes at the same time.
Kane entered the rematch as ONE heavyweight champion with a résumé built around physical wrestling and pressure. He defeated Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida by unanimous decision in 2023, then beat Malykhin by split decision in 2024. The rematch ended before the scorecards could matter.
Malykhin also removed his gloves after the fight, which suggested retirement. ONE Championship later posted a tribute-style message congratulating him on a historic MMA career.
Thank you, "Sladkiy" 🙏 Congrats to three-division king Anatoly Malykhin on a historic MMA career! @AnatolyMalykhin
🔴 Join The Inner Circle now for only USD9.99/month to catch live Superfan fights every Friday on https://t.co/SymCf6lx05!#TheInnerCircle #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/iTfZm8bNeK
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) May 15, 2026
The best retirement gift 💰💰 @AnatolyMalykhin
🔴 Join The Inner Circle now for only USD9.99/month to catch live Superfan fights every Friday on https://t.co/SymCf6lx05!#TheInnerCircle #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/c3jRIZqrti
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) May 15, 2026
Malykhin is 38 and removed his gloves after reclaiming the heavyweight belt. His ONE run includes heavyweight title wins twice, the light heavyweight title, the middleweight title, and two championship wins over Reinier de Ridder before de Ridder moved to the UFC.
Kane’s first heavyweight title reign ended with the fourth-round stoppage. Malykhin left Bangkok with the belt, a 15-1 record, and a knockout win over the only opponent who had beaten him.
