Iran's Pouya Rahmani defeated Anatoly Malykhin by a score of 10-3 in a freestyle wrestling bout at the RAF Moscow tournament. The lopsided scoreline marks a notable grappling result for Rahmani over the MMA heavyweight champion.
Iran's Pouya Rahmani handed Anatoly Malykhin a decisive 10-3 defeat in a freestyle wrestling match at the RAF Moscow tournament on September 5, 2026, a result that drew attention well beyond the wrestling mat given Malykhin's status as an MMA heavyweight champion.
Rahmani, who competes in MMA with a perfect 6-0-0 professional record, brings genuine combat sports versatility to his career. The 33-year-old stands six-foot-two with a 79-inch reach and fights out of the United Arab Emirates, though he carries Iranian roots. The dominant scoreline at RAF Moscow underscores that his grappling credentials extend beyond the cage, and a convincing technical victory over a name as prominent as Malykhin's in a freestyle wrestling setting is a meaningful data point for any scout or matchmaker evaluating his skill set.
Malykhin, whose verified fighter data was not included in the input, enters this result as the recognizable figure in the equation — an MMA heavyweight champion who stepped onto a wrestling-specific platform and came away on the wrong end of a lopsided score.
Why it matters
- The 10-3 margin was not close, suggesting Rahmani's wrestling translates well against high-level MMA competition in a pure grappling format.
- For an undefeated MMA prospect at 6-0, a notable win over a champion-level opponent in any discipline adds credibility to his overall combat sports profile.
- The result may raise Rahmani's visibility with promotions monitoring talent from the UAE and Iranian MMA circuits.
- It offers a rare cross-sport data point on how an active MMA heavyweight champion performs under freestyle wrestling rules against a specialist.
