“It’s going to be the same” – Anatoly Malykhin looks to dispatch Reinier de Ridder in similar fashion in Qatar

Anatoly Malykhin is confident that in the main event of ONE 166 on March 1, it will be repeat rather than revenge to close the show.

The light heavyweight and heavyweight world champion is out to make history at ONE Championship’s Qatar debut at the Lusail Sports Arena.

In order to claim the middleweight crown, he must defeat a man that he has already beaten once before where he handed Reinier de Ridder the first loss of his career in 2022.

Unsurprisingly, Anatoly Malykhin isn’t too concerned about what his opponent brings to the table having made quick work of ‘The Dutch Knight’ at ONE on Prime Video 5.

Regardless of the weight class, the challenger is predicting the same result, as he spoke about during a recent interview with ONE Championship:

“When we get in the cage with de Ridder, we'll see in the first scrap what de Ridder can do at 93 kilograms. I think it's going to be the same as last time.”

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The confidence and momentum of Anatoly Malykhin are two of his strongest weapons

If there’s one thing that hasn’t changed between the two meetings between the world champions, it’s the confidence of Anatoly Malykhin.

The undefeated Russian behemoth has been relatively flawless during his run with ONE Championship and he believes that he’s still only getting started.

While he cannot afford to replicate the same mistakes that de Ridder made the first time around by underestimating his opponent, Malykhin isn’t overly concerned about what his opponent brings to the table.

History is on the line for the two-weight world champion as he looks to secure dominance over three weight classes simultaneously to become the first to ever do it in MMA.

ONE 166: Qatar will air live and free via Prime Video for North American viewers with an active subscription on March 1.