Senegalese sensation Oumar ‘Reug Reug’ Kane shocked the world at ONE 169 in Bangkok, scoring a split decision victory over Anatoly Malykhin to claim the ONE heavyweight title.
Things got off to a smashing start for Kane in the opening round as he quickly took Malykhin to the mat — becoming the first fighter to ever do so inside the Circle — and promptly ragdolling him. However, Malykhin made a habit out of putting his arm over the ring ropes to stay upright which is akin to grabbing the cage in a more traditional MMA setting.
That prompted referee Herb Dean to issue a strong warning that eventually resulted in a yellow card when Malykhin did it a second time.
Despite the early setback, Malykhin appeared to be in control for much of the last three rounds, continuously cornering ‘Reug Reug’ and landing a few big blows before fishing for a takedown he’d never quite land. Dean stayed busy by breaking the fighters up every couple of minutes, but before long, they’d end up back in the same position. Things went that way for much of the final 10 minutes, leading many to believe that Malykhin’s aggression and control time would ultimately win him the fight after going the distance for the first time in his career.
Instead, the judges in Bangkok threw fight fans for a loop, crowning Kane the new ONE heavyweight king via a somewhat controversial split decision.
Official Result: Oumar ‘Reug Reug’ Kane def. Anatoly Malykhin via split decision to win the ONE heavyweight world championship.
With the win, Kane becomes ONE Championship’s first African-born titleholder.
Meanwhile, Anatoly Malykhin suffered the first loss of his career, falling to 14-1 and seeing his coveted status as MMA’s first and only simultaneous three-division champion disappear. Still, ‘Sladkiy’ has both the ONE light heavyweight and middleweight world titles — two belts with plenty of challengers chomping at the bit to challenge the Russian juggernaut.
