Anatoly Malykhin Expects Another Knockout Of Reinier De Ridder At ONE 166: Qatar

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Two-weight ONE World Champion Anatoly Malykhin's seemingly unstoppable momentum has brought him to the brink of capturing a historic third World Title. The Russian has knocked out every man in his path, including ONE Middleweight MMA World Champion Reinier de Ridder.

They meet again at ONE 166: Qatar this Friday, 1 March, at Lusail Sports Arena 15 months after their first collision. Their initial bout in 2022 at ONE on Prime Video 5 saw Malykhin end De Ridder's unbeaten run with a first-round knockout. And he expects the same outcome again.

"The scary thing for all my opponents is that I don't have a plan for any fight at all. I just go out there and do what I love doing and enjoy it," Malykhin said.

"When we [got] in the cage with De Ridder, we [saw] in the first scrap what De Ridder can do at 93 kilograms. I think it's going to be the same as last time."

In the world of MMA where the finest of margins can see you win or lose, confidence can play a major role in an athlete's success. And for a heavyweight monster like Malykhin, the confidence he's gathered throughout his ferocious tenure has left him feeling invincible.

Malykhin followed up his ONE Light Heavyweight MMA World Championship win over De Ridder by capturing the ONE Heavyweight MMA World Title from Arjan Bhullar last summer. The Russian firecracker has been persistent in developing his skills.

Ahead of ONE 166: Qatar, Malykhin firmly believes he has no weaknesses for "The Dutch Knight" to exploit. Physically and mentally, Malykhin is in beast mode. And he insists there's nothing stopping him from making history as a three-weight ONE World Champion inside Lusail Sports Arena.

"I have no weaknesses now. I'm very good in all aspects of MMA: I'm a good striker and my wrestling is great, and my physical condition is at its peak," Malykhin said. "I want to make history and that's what pushes me to get up early in the morning and give it 100 percent."