Director Anatoly Malykhina Alexander Skaredin told that the ONE heavyweight and light heavyweight champion has been preparing for several months to compete in the intermediate category.
On Thursday, it was announced that Malykhin will meet Dutchman Rainier De Ridder on March 1, 2024 in Qatar in the main event of ONE 166. The organization’s middleweight belt, which belongs to the Dutchman, will be on the line.
– This will be a fight for the middleweight belt, owned by De Ridder. This is a historic moment: if successful, Anatoly will become the current triple champion. I’ve never seen anything like this in the history of MMA. This intrigues us and energizes us greatly. Psychologically, it will be very difficult for De Ridder after his first fight, where there was a total downgrade from Anatoly. We saw that De Ridder tried as best he could to avoid this revenge. De Ridder will be under enormous pressure. But the weight… It’s a factor that works against Malykhin. Although Anatoly, immediately after the first meeting with the Dutchman, set himself a goal in the form of a third belt. And he has been doing special work in terms of weight loss techniques for several months. And this is one of the main questions: will Tolya be able to gain weight and pass the hydration test, while being in the cage himself. And this is a huge question, the answer to which we will see on March 1, 2024 in Qatar. But I have 1000% confidence in Anatolia!
— There is a unique situation here where a fighter actually falls into two categories. Tell us about the nuances if Malykhin cannot enter the ONE middleweight category?
– The rules are the rules. If you are a true champion, you have to live up to it,” Skaredin told .
Malykhin has 13 first victories in MMA. In December 2022, Malykhin defeated De Ridder by technical knockout in the first round and took the ONE light heavyweight belt from him. This fight remains the last for De Ridder, as the fighter suffered the only defeat of his career. At ONE, dehydration (dehydration) is prohibited for fighters, and athletes are specifically checked for dehydration. As a result, the weight category limits in the Asian league were changed. Thus, the average weight limit is 93 kg (while everywhere else it is 84 kg), that of light heavyweight is 102 kg (in other leagues, it is 93 kg).
All ONE tournaments are broadcast live on and Match! Fighter”.
Source : MatchTV
I am Ashley Ortiz and I am a professional journalist working for Athletistic. My specialty is in sports journalism, particularly boxing. I have written articles for some of the most renowned publications on the subject, and my work has been featured across both print and digital media platforms.
