“I can go a weight class below” - Anatoly Malykhin has his eyes on one of Reinier de Ridder’s world titles

ONE interim heavyweight world champion Anatoly Malykhin isn’t negotiating with Reiner de Ridder.

The 34-year-old wants to have a crack at de Ridder’s light heavyweight world title before giving ‘The Dutch Knight’ the opportunity to move up a weight class to face him.

Dominant two-division world champion Reinier de Ridder has been pushing for a world title matchup between himself and Malykhin since defeating Vitaly Bigdash at ONE 159 in July. But until he defends his middleweight belt against Russian newcomer Shamil Abdulaev on October 21, Malykhin seems to be calling the shots.

‘Sladkiy’ revealed his plans to ONE Championship with the following statement:

“I am the king of the heavyweight division. After I beat Arjan, I can go a weight class below, as I am a small heavyweight, and take the belt [from de Ridder]. Then if he wants – but after meeting me, he won’t – he can go up to the heavyweight division. I will wait for him. I will look good with two belts!"

Anatoly Malykhin was scheduled for a world title unification showdown against ONE heavyweight world champion Arjan Bhullar at ONE 161. However, weeks before their face-off, Bhullar withdrew due to an injury.

Although Malykhin is back to square one, he remains optimistic about his return to action. Meanwhile, de Ridder needs to pass his latest test to take another step closer to his dream of becoming a three-division world champion.

---

Anatoly Malykhin willing to rematch Iranian titan Amir Aliakbari

Anatoly Malykhin is willing to rematch emerging heavyweight star Amir Aliakbari. The two crossed paths last year at ONE: Revolution with ‘Sladkiy’ winning their first match by first-round TKO.

Believing it to be an easy payday, Malykhin accepted Aliakbari’s callout on his Instagram page with the caption:

“Everything is clear with you @amiraliakbari60 But if you want to repeat, know, this time I'll drop you even faster👊🏻”

Aliakbari turned heads this past August at ONE on Prime Video 1 with a complete shutdown of former Cage Warriors champion Mauro Cerilli. His thunderous finish and boisterous personality boosted his popularity with his MMA fanbase.

However, he will likely need one epic victory before claiming a world title shot against Malykhin, especially after suffering back-to-back losses two fights earlier. Although, at the end of the day, Malykhin needs a fight, and Aliakbari can certainly be considered as an option to keep the Russian behemoth active.