[2] As of November 2024, Kanikovskiy is ranked sixth in the world in the -100 kg category by the International Judo Federation.

In 2021, Kanikovskiy claimed the junior European title in Luxembourg.

[7] In 2022, he won the senior Russian national championships held in Yekaterinburg at 100 kg[3] and earned the gold medal at the grand slam Ulaanbaatar.

[8] In 2023, Matvey won the grand prix in Dushanbe, Tajikistan,[9] two grand slam tournaments in Astana, Kazakhstan and Tokyo, Japan[10][11] and came third at the European Championships.

[12] In 2024, he won the grand prix Odivelas, in the final match he over 2x world champion Nikoloz Sherazadishvili of Spain.