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Newly crowned ONE double champion Anatoly Malykhin made history this weekend by handing the seemingly unstoppable Reinier de Ridder his first career loss at ONE on Prime Video 5.
'Sladkiy' did so in his vintage bullying, forward-moving style that's put away nearly every fighter he's faced in the past.
The battle of the undefeated world champions, which took place at the MOA Arena in Manila, Philippines, was for de Ridder's light heavyweight strap. Right off the bat, de Ridder closed the distance in an effort to put Malykhin on the ground and nullify his knockout power.
Malykhin used his strong wrestling background in reverse as he negated every takedown attempt by 'The Dutch Knight'. The narrative coming into the bout was whether or not Malykhin would retain his devastating power since he'll be moving down a weight class. The answer was a resounding yes as he rattled his Dutch rival the moment he touched him with his cinderblocks for fists.
After hurting de Ridder with an early right hand to the temple, 'Sladkiy' proceeded to methodically stalk him, throwing hard rights to the head and body. De Ridder was in pure survival mode until Malykhin found his killshot near the end of the first round.
'The Dutch Knight' fell down like a ton of bricks and Malykhin finished the night with hammer fists on the ground.
Here's a video of the finish:
"NEW DOUBLE-CHAMP 👑👑 ONE Interim Heavyweight World Champion Anatoly Malykhin 🇷🇺 knocks out Reinier de Ridder to claim the light heavyweight throne! @anmalykhin"
Anatoly Malykhin wins rare $100,000 double bonus from ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong
Not only did Anatoly Malykhin walk out of Manila with the ONE light heavyweight and interim heavyweight world titles, he also brought home a sweet $100,000 double bonus from ONE Championship.
Speaking with ONE commentator Mitch Chilson after his light heavyweight world title victory, Malykhin received not one, but two $50,000 bonuses for his marvelous accomplishment.
The Russian behemoth immediately left the cage to thank ONE chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong personally. With Chilson still conducting the interview outside the circle, Malykhin said:
“I am so happy. I have the best family. The best wife. The best kid and look where I am right now. I have the best boss. Thank you everyone.”
Asked about his performance, 'Sladkiy' said he never doubted that the light heavyweight world title would be on his shoulders that night:
“I already knew I was going to win since yesterday so I just want to thank all my people for supporting me and made it happen. I knew the belt was going to be on the chest of my coach.”
This win sets us up for a massive unification bout between Anatoly Malykhin and undisputed ONE heavyweight world champion Arjan Bhullar. The Russian powerhouse has unfinished business with the Indo-American world champ, and it's only a matter of time before they collide inside the circle.
