Malykhin to fight De Ridder for middleweight MMA world title in Qatar
Anatoly ‘Sladkiy’ Malykhin, who already has the ONE Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight MMA World Titles in hand, will soon have a chance to make history in Qatar.
Come March 1, the Russian superstar will climb down one weight class to try to become the first three-division MMA World Champion at the Lusail Sports Arena in Qatar.
Date: Friday, March 1, 2024
Venue: Lusail Sports Arena
Gates Open: 3.30pm onwards
Tickets: Can be purchased here.
Malykhin, in the main event of ONE 166: Qatar, will challenge ONE Middleweight MMA World Champion Reinier de Ridder — the man he beat for the light heavyweight crown last year — in a high-stakes rematch.
The two mixed martial artists first met at ONE Fight Night 5 in December 2022. While De Ridder entered as an undefeated two-division king, the Russian challenger already held the interim heavyweight MMA belt.
Malykhin brilliantly defended takedowns from the lanky Dutch grappler and utilized his heavy boxing repertoire to knock him out in the first round.
Not only did ‘Sladkiy’ hand De Ridder his first professional loss, he also took the light heavyweight MMA crown and became a two-division World Champion.
Each fighter has taken a very different path since that encounter.
De Ridder traveled across the USA to train with the world’s best Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu coaches and athletes. He even put his skills to test against Tye Ruotolo in a submission grappling super-fight last May.
Malykhin finally fought heated rival and then-ONE Heavyweight MMA World Champion Arjan ‘Singh’ Bhullar in a unification match last June.
The Russian ultimately overwhelmed the Canadian-Indian juggernaut with a third-round knockout to emerge as undisputed heavyweight MMA king.
Now, with all roads leading to the main event of ONE 166: Qatar, each man has everything to fight for.
De Ridder has a chance to even the score, hand Malykhin his first professional defeat, and prove he is the planet’s best middleweight mixed martial artist.
But for Malykhin, history is calling. If he defeats the Dutchman again, ‘Sladkiy’ will become the first three-division World Champion in MMA.
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