“Our hope is that Vitaly will drop him” - Anatoly Malykhin backs Vitaly Bigdash to get the better of Reinier de Ridder's "unspectacular" style 

Anatoly Malykhin has been training with Vitaly Bigdash ahead of the former titleholder's clash with reigning two-division world champion Reinier de Ridder. 'The Dutch Knight' steps back into the circle on Friday, July 22 to defend his ONE middleweight crown against challenger Bigdash.

Meeting in the main event of ONE 159, ‘The Dutch Knight’ looks to keep his undefeated streak alive against the Russian juggernaut, who intends on recapturing ONE gold five years after dropping the belt to rival Aung La N Sang.

Speaking to ONE Championship, interim heavyweight world champion Anatoly Malykhin gave his thoughts on the impending world title main event.

“Watch all Vitaly’s fights, they are very spectacular, almost all ending with a knockout. Vitaly always hunts for a good knockout.”

When speaking about ‘The Dutch Knight’, Malykhin admitted that he is unconvinced that the champ will stray from his grapple-heavy gameplan, leading to an “unspectacular” fight between the two behemoths.

“As for de Ridder, I don’t think we’ll see anything new. He will show an unspectacular fight trying to take to the ground and bind up. Our hope is that Vitaly will drop him beautifully.”

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Vitaly Bigdash trains with Anatoly Malykhin ahead of ONE 159 title fight

Perhaps a big reason for Anatoly Malykhin’s favoritsm toward world title challenger Vitaly Bigdash is that the two have recently gotten close to one another while training together. Bigdash joined Tiger Muay Thai in Phuket, Thailand for this fight camp, the same gym that Malykhin calls home.

In a post on Instagram, the Russian shared a picture of himself in front of Tiger Muay Thai with the caption:

“Now we move like a tiger🐅🌪”

In an interview with Yahoo News, Bigdash discussed his move to Thailand to enhance his training, saying that the climate alone has helped him increase his endurance and aid in keeping his weight manageable.

“Training here also increases my endurance. Being here makes it easier to cut weight naturally just through training and dieting. I just eat well and train, and the weight seems to fall off.”

Despite being there to put in work, Bigdash admits that the natural beauty of the country makes the sacrifice more than worthwhile.

“Southeast Asia is so beautiful, but I am here to work. Most of the time, all I see is the gym and the beach, but even that makes me happy every time I am in the region.”