ONE Friday Fights 22 provided an eventful spectacle this past Friday, June 23, inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Boxing Stadium. Two world titles were awarded on the 11-fight card, and some undeniable talents rose to prominence throughout the evening.
As the results get dissected, what lies ahead for the winners has started to be discussed, and so, here’s a breakdown of the three most important questions we’re asking after ONE Friday Fight 22.
1. Can Anatoly Malykhin actually make middleweight?
Anatoly Malykhin is now an undisputed world champion in two divisions in ONE, but he still doesn’t seem satisfied.
“Sladkiy” added the ONE heavyweight world title to his light heavyweight strap with a commanding third-round TKO win over former divisional king Arjan Bhullar in Friday’s main event.
With the victory, the Russian powerhouse did what he said he would do for over a year, and many thought he’d sit back and take in the glory afterward – at least for a short time. But in his post-fight interview, he quickly turned his attention to former foe Reinier de Ridder.
Malykhin crushed the former two-weight titleholder in one round last December, taking the ONE light heavyweight world title from him in the process. And now he has his eyes on “The Dutch Knight’s” middleweight belt.
The unbeaten behemoth appeared to make the light heavyweight limit without issue for his first fight with de Ridder, but can a heavyweight world champion with a hulking frame like Malykhin’s really drop two weight classes?
On the surface, it might look like the 35-year-old star would need to cut off a limb to make the 185-pound weight limit. But he has done everything right in his ONE tenure so far, so there should be no reason to doubt him – no matter how crazy his ideas sound.
2. Will we ever see Superlek vs. Rodtang?
Another decorated athlete who remains unsettled with their lot is ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion Superlek Kiatmoo9.
“The Kicking Machine” returned to muay Thai on Friday and scored a first-round finish against teen striking sensation Nabil Anane to stay unbeaten in the sport in ONE.
Superlek is top-ranked in the flyweight muay Thai division, and this win only bolsters the likelihood of a future showdown with reigning king Rodtang Jitmuangnon.
But the Thai superstar appeared to put that further away from possibility than ever before following his win over Anane, as he stood in the ring and called ONE bantamweight muay Thai world champion Jonathan Haggerty instead.
Fans came close to seeing the superfight between Superlek and Rodtang earlier this year, but the matchup was scuppered last minute due to injury, and now it looks to not be on the 27-year-old’s radar at all.
He has made it very clear that he wants go for as many belts as possible in “The Home of Martial Arts,” though, so perhaps after he gets Haggerty out of his system, a fight with “The Iron Man” may be revisited.
3. Can Nico Carrillo deliver on his claims?
Nico Carrillo has had an ultra-impressive start to his ONE tenure.
“King of the North” bagged his biggest career win to date this past weekend when he took out Thai contender Muangthai PK.Saenchai in the second round of their tussle.
It was his second knockout in as many outings, and the rising Scottish star was awarded a $100,000 ONE Championship contract for his thrilling display.
In the ring after the fight on Friday, Carrillo was quick to put the bantamweight muay Thai division on notice. He claimed he was the new king of the division and even suggested he’d be ready to take on reigning titleholder Jonathan Haggerty.
With a freshly inked contract in hand, the talented 24-year-old has the world at his feet, and it will be very interesting to see if he can continue to deliver the goods in the stacked striking division.
