Reinier de Ridder on Anatoly Malykhin’s destructive striking: “He definitely has a special power”

Watching Anatoly Malykhin go on an unstoppable rampage inside the Circle is one thing, but getting to experience it firsthand is another.

Reinier de Ridder bore the brunt of that power when he dropped the ONE light heavyweight world title to Malykhin at ONE on Prime Video 5 in December 2022.

In an interview with the South China Morning Post, the Dutch superstar perfectly described what it’s like to be on the receiving end of Malykhin’s sledgehammer fists.

‘The Dutch Knight’ said he’s always done well against power punchers throughout his career, but the power Malykhin had was truly extraordinary.

View this post on Instagram

Instagram Post

The reigning ONE middleweight world champion said:

“And he has that special thing. He definitely has a special power. But how special is that? Because there are a lot of heavyweights who have that power, and there are a lot of guys that didn't put me out with one shot. I'm not sure if he really has one-shot knockout power, usually TKOs guys normally. But yeah And that was the thing that surprised me.”

Malykhin again displayed that devastating power just this June when he captured the ONE undisputed heavyweight world title at ONE Friday Fights 22.

Though he’s already at double-world champion status, Malykhin only held interim heavyweight gold, and his match against Bhullar presented the opportunity for undisputed status.

Malykhin and Bhullar have been going back and forth throughout 2022 but only had their fateful meeting at the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok.

Though the rivalry was built on more than a year of animosity, Malykhin quickly showed that he was the one true heavyweight king.

Malykhin had Bhullar on a string, and he tagged the Indian star with a relentless barrage en route to a third-round TKO win.

Watch de Ridder's entire interview below: