Double ONE League champion Anatoly Malykhin (13-0) will headline ONE 166: Qatar, where he will attempt to become champion in three weight divisions: middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight. Malykhin moved up to A middleweight (93 kg) for a second meeting with Dutch fighter Reinier de Ridder.
Malykhin talked about preparing for the fight, predicting the fight and working with young fighters.
How this fight will differ from the previous fight with de Ridder
This time I will be thinner! I feel good now. Sometimes when I’m shadow boxing or hitting equipment during training, I’m afraid of myself. I am very fast and very strong, resilient and very motivated. I want to create history, and that has pushed me all these months to get up early in the morning and give 100%. I only noticed one change: I looked 20 years younger, that’s for sure. I’ve never felt what I feel now. The shape is simply great!
On preparing for the fight with de Ridder
My only coach is Johnny (John Hutchinson). And this time, the sparring partners were guys from Kazakhstan who came to train at Tiger Muay Thai in Phuket. There was a lot of wrestling in the works, and there were many excellent wrestlers among the sparring partners. We mostly wrestled during this camp, and also worked with Johnny on the apparatus and pads. This time during camp we fought more, because I’m pretty sure de Ridder will fight. We worked a lot on freestyle wrestling to make it difficult to take me down, and also worked on jiu-jitsu. But there was one innovation: we swam a lot. Swimming is good for cardio and generally relaxing – it’s like meditation for me.
About Reinier de Ridder’s opponent
I think he has already drawn conclusions from our previous meeting, but what can he do in the meantime? I don’t think he learned to stand up, acquired a good punch, or learned freestyle wrestling. Yes, he realized how dangerous I was, and he and his team came up with a new plan. But the worst thing for all my opponents is that I have no fight plan at all. I go out, do what I love and enjoy it. When we enter the cage with de Ridder, in the very first meeting, we will see what de Ridder is capable of at 93 kilograms. I think everything will happen again, like last time.
About the fight between old rivals Malykhin – Amir Aliakbari and Arjan Bullar, who will perform in the heavyweight division at ONE 166
It’s a great confrontation, a good test for both. I believe that before this, they had no rivals at their peak, and this meeting will show what they are really worth. My opinion is that Arjan will win – he is the smarter fighter. Amir is a one-trick fighter. He can take him to the ground, he can hit hard, but from the second round Amir quickly loses his strength, which he cannot handle mentally. In my opinion, Arjan will endure the first round, in some places he will be careful, and in others he will lead a little dirty MMA. And then he will lead this fight on points. Of course, Arjan won’t knock out Aliakbari – he doesn’t have that kind of power, but I think he’ll beat him. Arjn is a smarter and more cunning fighter. I’m ready to fight anyone, it makes no difference to me. I’m willing to play both of those guys on the same night if the league asks.
On working as a corner at ONE tournaments and coaching in the future
When I’m not preparing for a fight myself, I always try to come to training, watch how the guys train, what kind of lag they have in wrestling, striking, functional or pressing. I try to motivate them by example. They see how much the ONE League has changed my life. Now a lot of guys contact us and want to join ONE, they want to change their lives, and that’s very cool. So far I like everything as it is. I love being with the guys and seeing them take their first steps in the promotion.
Watch the live broadcast of the ONE 166 tournament on Friday from 3:30 p.m. (Moscow time) on the channel, matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru sites.
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.
