ONE Championship: “He fights with heart” - Anatoly Malykhin says beating former ONE champ Reinier de Ridder is a tough task for anyone

Reigning and undisputed ONE light heavyweight and middleweight MMA world champion 'Sladkiy' Anatoly Malykhin of Russia knows a thing or two about just how tough former two-division ONE world champion and now UFC fighter 'The Dutch Knight' Reinier de Ridder truly is. De Ridder signed with the UFC and made his debut at UFC Fight Night 247 against veteran Gerald Meerschaert, winning via third-round submission.

He then followed up that win with a first-round submission victory over Kevin Holland. Most recently, 'The Dutch Knight' scored a win over highly regarded prospect Bo Nickal at UFC on ESPN 67 earlier this month, taking home the W via second-round technical knockout.

Speaking to RDX Sports in a recent interview, Malykhin had nothing but high praise for his former adversary.

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'Sladkiy' said of De Ridder:

"De Ridder always comes forward and fights with heart. He’s got dangerous knees, strong takedown defence, and a long, awkward frame that poses a real challenge. So, yeah — all gas, no brakes, Reinier!"

Malykhin defeated De Ridder in ONE Championship with back to back wins to take both of the Dutchman's light heavyweight and middleweight MMA belts.

Anatoly Malykhin on the mystique of UFC fighters: "They’re just regular fighters, regular people"

While the notion is that the UFC has the world's best fighters, Anatoly Malykhin begs to differ. The former triple champ in ONE believes talent is everywhere, especially in ONE Championship, where he reigns supreme.

'Sladkiy' said:

"I’ve been saying this for a long time – the best fighters aren’t only in the UFC. Sure, they have great talent, but so do other promotions. The UFC was just the first major promotion to hit the market, and it got the most hype — that’s why people assume it has all the best guys. But I’ve trained with many UFC fighters and honestly, they’re just regular fighters, regular people. You can beat them, and they can beat you. Every league has exceptional athletes. The elite is everywhere."

Stay tuned to Sportskeeda MMA for all the latest news and updates surrounding Anatoly Malykhin's next fight.

About the author

Dan is an MMA writer with 10+ years of overall experience. Before his ongoing tenure at Sportskeeda, Dan got the opportunity to be at the forefront of the sport by contributing to ONE Championship and Fight Game Asia. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology.

Dan’s connection to MMA started during the early days of the UFC and ONE Championship. He previously practiced boxing and ranks Demetrious Johnson, Anderson Silva, Georges St-Pierre, Jon Jones, and Fedor Emelianenko as the top five MMA fighters of all time.

He has covered several events onsite and on the ground for ONE Championship and hopes to continue doing so. He ensures that he churns out accurate articles by citing only legitimate sources and getting firsthand accounts through exclusive interviews whenever required.

Dan feels MMA fighter pay seems like an issue because it often gets compared to what fighters earn in boxing but that MMA will eventually catch up in the future.

His other interests include soccer and video games.

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Edited by Krishna Venki