Anatoly Malykhin vs Kirill Grishenko Postponed to ONE: Bad Blood

Anatoly Malykhin vs Kirill Grishenko is something ONE Championship fans will have to wait for just a touch longer.

In a report from South China Morning Post, it was specified that Malykhin has tested positive for COVID 19. He is out of his ONE: Only The Brave main event bout on January 28th.

Now featherweight grand prix kickboxing action assumes top billing as the ONE interim heavyweight championship bout gets shuffled around.

The ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Grand Prix semifinals take center stage on 28 January! 🥊 #ONEOnlyTheBrave

Anatoly Malykhin vs. Kirill Grishenko for the ONE Interim Heavyweight World Title has been moved to ONE: BAD BLOOD. Read more 👉 https://t.co/FzcIqIEwkE #ONEBadBlood pic.twitter.com/ULKdlcDHGu

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) January 18, 2022

Despite this clash falling out, Malykhin will soon enter the ONE Circle to vie for gold. It will bolster the ONE Bad Blood card on February 11th with Malykhin versus Grishenko adding even more title fight action that night.

Bibiano Fernandes defends his bantamweight belt against brick-fisted contender John Lineker inside Singapore Indoor Stadium. The culmination of a heated rivalry that has greatly informed the tagline for this event.

Anatoly Malykhin vs Kirill Grishenko

ONE Championship booked this Anatoly Malykhin vs Kirill Grishenko collision in lieu of difficulties booking reigning ONE heavyweight champion Arjan Bhullar.

The early February victor will punch their ticket for Bhullar’s return to the ONE Circle as the contract dispute continues to work towards a resolution point.

Anatoly Malykhin is 10-0 as a pro and specifically has a 2-0 run under the ONE banner. Spartak has put together back-to-back first-round finishes via strikes over the pair of prizefights that accompanied his 2021 campaign.

Malykhin halted Alexandre Machado at ONE: Fists of Fury II in March as well as Amir Aliakbari at ONE: Revolution in September.

Kirill Grishenko has compiled a 5-0 professional record and is also 2-0 specifically in ONE Championship efforts.

He debuted in April at ONE on TNT IV by hindering the massive hype accrued by Reug Reug aka Oumar Kane via a bizarre-looking second-round stoppage at the bell.

Grishenko’s sophomore effort in the ONE Circle saw him hand Dustin Joynson his first pro-MMA loss. This took place in a barn burner heavyweight clash at ONE: Next Gen in October.

What are your thoughts on Anatoly Malykhin vs Kirill Grishenko being re-positioned by a few weeks?

Dylan Bowker

I've been enamored with combat sports for as long as I can remember. I've hosted MMA talk shows Lights Out and Pure Fight Radio with featured guests like Jens Pulver, Roy Nelson, Miesha Tate, Mark Coleman, and more. I've been an MMA broadcaster for XFFC as well as BTC and have done play by play commentary on live pay per view on GFL as well as FITE TV. I've provided written, audio, and video content covering some of the biggest MMA promotions like Rumble in the Cage, Unified MMA, and King of the Cage. I've worked as a sports entertainment personality for over five years and given play-by-play or featured promotions of KSW, ONE Championship, TKO, and Invicta FC. My work can be found in the USA Today Sports affiliate MMA Torch, Cageside Press, MMA Sucka, and Liberty Multimedia.

See Full Bio