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Reinier de Ridder isn’t worried about Anatoly Malykhin’s knockout power.
At ONE on Prime Video 5, de Ridder and Malykhin will go toe-to-toe for the ONE light heavyweight world title. Although ‘Sladkiy’ started his martial arts journey in wrestling, his ridiculous knockout power has led to his success, including the ONE interim heavyweight world title.
With that said, ‘The Dutch Knight’ doesn't believe the Russian’s power will be the difference-maker. During an interview with The MMA Superfan, de Ridder had this to say when comparing Malykhin to his past opponents:
“Like all of them, they all want to stand and bang, they all think that they'll knock me out, I'll prove them wrong once again.”
Malykhin finished all three of his ONE opponents to date by KO/TKO, but the question is, how will his power and overall skills translate down to light heavyweight? Meanwhile, de Ridder will have a reach disadvantage for the first time since joining ONE.
‘The Dutch Knight’ vs. ‘Sladkiy’ will headline ONE on Prime Video 5, which goes down on Friday, December 2, starting at 8 p.m. ET. The event features eight bouts across three martial arts disciplines and can be watched for free by Amazon Prime subscribers in the United States and Canada.
Watch Reinier de Ridder's interview with The MMA Superfan below:
Reinier de Ridder believes he’s a tough opponent to prepare for
Reinier de Ridder is an intriguing opponent for fighters to prepare for. Before fighting Anatoly Malykhin, ‘The Dutch Knight’ had a reach advantage over all his ONE opponents, which helped the holes in his striking until the fight ultimately went to the ground where he specializes.
During the same interview, de Ridder had this to say about Malykhin’s preparations for ONE on Prime Video 5:
“He's fought taller opponents, of course, he always fights taller opponents because he's short and stubby. But the last time he fought a southpaw was way back then. And my style is just difficult to prepare for because there's no other guy like me."
De Ridder will defend the light heavyweight title for the first time since beating Aung La N Sang to become the champion.
Meanwhile, this will mark the first time Malykhin has fought at light heavyweight as he wants to stay busy while heavyweight champion Arjan Bhullar finishes preparing for a unification bout.
If the Russian wins at ONE on Prime Video 5, the light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions will be shaken up.
