"Pay attention to my pressure" - Anatoly Malykhin says his ability to turn up the heat was the difference vs. Reinier de Ridder

Russian juggernaut Anatoly Malykhin doubled up on Reinier de Ridder of the Netherlands in their title showdown earlier this month, which he credits to his ability to turn up the heat when needed during fights.

'Sladkiy' stopped 'The Dutch Knight' by TKO in the third round of their headlining title clash at ONE 166: Qatar on March 1. The victory earned Malykhin the middleweight world title to become a three-division MMA champion as he also holds the light heavyweight, which he took from de Ridder in December 2022, and heavyweight world titles.

In an interview with the MMA Junkie, the Golden Team standout shared what makes him a different fighter and how it was evident against de Ridder.

He said:

"I'm on a completely different level than his [Reinier de Ridder's] previous opponents. You should pay attention to my pressure. The pressure that I put on my opponents is immense."

Watch the interview below:

At ONE 166: Qatar, Anatoly Malykhin pressed on de Ridder right at the onset with telling hits. It all came to an end when the Russian champion found an opening to inflict more damage on the Dutch fighter when the latter saw his takedown attempt misfired.

From it, Malykhin took the opportunity to go for furious ground and pound, including devastating knee strikes to the head, which took a lot from de Ridder and left him unable to continue after.

ONE 166: Qatar was the first-ever live on-ground event in Qatar of ONE Championship. Its replay is available for free to North American viewers with an active Prime Video subscription.

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Anatoly Malykhin honored to be considered among the best Russian fighters

Anatoly Malykhin has been on an impressive roll in MMA and is now considered by some quarters as among the best Russian fighters in the game. It is something the considers as a huge honor.

Following his latest title conquest at ONE 166: Qatar on March 1, where he defeated Reinier de Ridder to seize the ONE middleweight gold and become a three-division MMA world champion, 'Sladkiy' extended his undefeated pro MMA record to 14-0.

More telling, the 36-year-old fighter has shown no signs of slowing down, even considering vying for world titles in other disciplines.

In the same interview with MMA Junkie, Malykhin shared that he is aware of talk putting him among the best Russian athletes in combat sports and is grateful for that, saying:

"So we'll see at the end of my journey, where people put me and they rate me. Right now, I'm just happy to be even mentioned next to the greatest [Fedor Emelianenko]. It's an honor."

Before turning pro, Anatoly Malykhin boasts of an undefeated amateur record of 4-0.