“A lot more amazing fights” - MMA legend Demetrious Johnson intrigued with Anatoly Malykhin’s challenge for middleweight gold

Demetrious Johnson will forever remain a fan of martial arts, and one of the matchups he’s looking forward to this 2024 is the rematch between Reinier de Ridder and Anatoly Malykhin.

The second meeting between the two world champions, however, will be fought at another weight class altogether.

Malykhin, who already owns the ONE light heavyweight and heavyweight MMA world championships, will challenge de Ridder for the ONE middleweight MMA world title in the main event of ONE 166: Qatar.

Johnson, the reigning ONE flyweight MMA world champion, recently spoke about the current martial arts landscape on his YouTube channel Mighty Gaming. It was during his Mighty Awards episode that ‘Mighty Mouse’ discussed Malykhin’s challenge for the middleweight MMA throne.

Demetrious Johnson said:

“My bold prediction of 2024 I think, we’re going to see a lot more amazing fights. I think we might see a new champ, a lot of new champions… we’re gonna have some good matchups in ONE Championship, Anatoly’s going to fight RDR for his third belt. I don’t think there’s been a three-divisional champion.”

ONE 166 is ONE Championship’s first on-site event in Qatar, and the card takes place at Lusail Sports Arena on March 1.

De Ridder and Malykhin first met at ONE on Prime Video 5 wherein the Russian juggernaut knocked 'The Dutch Knight' out in the first round to claim the ONE light heavyweight MMA world title.

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Demetrious Johnson recounts how he fell in love with MMA

Like any other kid growing up in Seattle, Demetrious Johnson was surrounded by sports in his city.

Johnson had every avenue to root for the Seahawks, Mariners, and Supersonics, but it was not a ball-sport that he ultimately fell in love with.

The MMA legend revealed in a fan Q&A session at Mighty Gaming that his martial arts base eventually led him to the path of MMA.

After trying the multi-faceted sport, Demetrious Johnson soon found himself going down the path that would make him an absolute sporting legend.

“For me, how I found my passion was, that I've always wanted to work out, I've always played football, basketball, track, wrestle in high school. And then I found mixed martial arts, then I started trying it, and I just liked it.