This Friday on Asia primetime, a promising young fighter aims to leave a lasting impression in his ONE Championship debut. At ONE Friday Fights 54, Russia’s Rustam Yunusov will compete in a Muay Thai match against Japanese star Ramu Arya.

The fight will go down inside the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. The 17-year-old was inspired by the success of his compatriot, three-division World Champion, Anatoly Malykhin in ONE, and “Sladkiy’s” wife, Anita, recently shared that he had reached out to them in hopes of becoming a member of their gym.

Anita Malykhin on rising star Rustam Yunusov

“Rustam wrote to us at ONE Chance Team a long time ago that he would like to be on the team,” Mrs. Malykhin told ONE Championship.  “When I saw the message, I found out that he was only 17 years old. I decided that I couldn’t take on such a responsibility – he’s just a kid.”

Anita may have initially been cautious about taking on such a young fighter, but the emergence of Johan “Jojo” Ghazali changed her perspective. At just 17, the Malaysian-American phenom has won all five bouts in ONE, including a first-round knockout victory, that too over former World Title challenger Edgar Tabares, and earned a US$100,000 contract with the promotion.  Anita and her team were so impressed by what Ghazali had done at such a young age that they considered giving Yunusov a chance.

“Once we were walking in Phuket and met Rustam with his father and coach Ruslan, we got to know each other,” she said. “They started talking about Rustam and mentioned that he fought ‘Jojo’ three times and won two fights. One fight was close, but the victory was given to ‘Jojo.’ I got interested, looked at his fights carefully, and realized that, for 17, he is a very outstanding fighter who is ready to take risks.”

How she decided to give Yunusov a shot

“He got a lot of awards for early wins, for spectacular fights. And I thought to myself, ‘Why not try to take this responsibility for a 17-year-old fighter?’ It was obvious that he fights like an experienced fighter and is not less than those older guys.” Yunusov will have a chance to showcase his skills on the same platform Ghazali began to shine on – ONE Friday Fights – this weekend. 

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He’ll certainly have a very interested audience in Anita and the One Chance Team, who will be eager to watch his expected rise in the combat sports world. “It will be interesting for me to watch his progress because for his 17 years, he is a real slugger. He is so charged. I love that sport is his way of life, that he’s fully committed to the sport,” she said.  

“He’s constantly developing. He participates in all the tournaments in Russia. He wanted to go to the world competition, but he had a choice – to compete in ONE or to go to competitions in Russia or around the world. In the end, he chose the opportunity to compete in the best league – ONE Championship.” Malykhin predicts a bright future for the rising star. “On March 8, we will watch his debut and cheer for him. I think he has a very big future.”

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