“I’m going to kill him with his own weapon” – KO artist Anatoly Malykhin says he’ll submit BJJ specialist Reinier de Ridder

Knockout Russian artist Anatoly Malykhin is ready to put on an absolute banger at ONE 166: Qatar by beating longtime rival Reinier de Ridder at his own game.

The undefeated two-division world champion was in attendance at ONE Fight Night 19 last Friday in Thailand when he told ONE commentator Mitch Chilson that he’ll submit Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist Reinier de Ridder on March 1.

‘Sladiky’ promised:

“No one has ever won over De Ridder via a guillotine [choke]. No one has ever done it before. So I’m going to kill him with his own weapon.”

The dominant ONE heavyweight and light heavyweight MMA world champion is by definition, one of the most popular and efficient KO strikers in the world’s largest martial arts organization.

After defeating Reinier de Ridder for the heavyweight crown by TKO last December, it hardly comes as a surprise that Malykhin wants his rival’s middleweight belt next.

In the first match, the biggest concern for Malykhin was de Ridder’s outstanding jiu-jitsu game. The Dutchman, after all, had been undefeated with a perfect 15-0 MMA record, using only his vaunted grappling to weigh down his opponents.

After winning for many years in that manner, it was shocking to see Malykhin shuffle out of de Ridder’s takedown attempts with ease. It’s no wonder that the Russian feels even more aggrandized at the thought of humiliating de Ridder from a jiu-jitsu standpoint.

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Anatoly Malykhin intends to make weight at ONE 166 by keeping his “fridge” at bay

There are no limits to what Anatoly Malykhin can achieve in MMA. As long as he puts his heart and soul into everything he does, Malykhin is capable of doing anything - even discouraging himself from opening his fridge before meeting Reinier de Ridder again.

The loveable champion has one more hurdle to overcome: his love of food. For his rematch against de Ridder, Malykhin has to drop a mind-boggling 60 pounds or 27 kilos from his natural weight to compete at middleweight.

That said, pulling it off will be a real challenge. But Malykhin is confident he’ll be strong as a middleweight as long as he sticks to one crucial plan:

“The main strategy is to stay away from the fridge after 6 p.m.” he told ONE Championship. “If I don’t come near the fridge after that, I’m fine – I’m making weight.”

ONE 166: Qatar will air live on March 1 free of charge for existing Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.