At the present time, Anatoly Malykhin is considered as one of the most powerful MMA boxers of One Championship. The Russian boxer has acquired two championship belts in the Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight weight class. Not only that, he also wanted to win the Middleweight weight champion.
The opponent of the One Championship Middleweight of Anatoly Malykhin at One 166 is the reinforcing champion Reinier de Ridder. 15 months ago, the “Dutch knight” had protected Light Heavyweight before Malykhin himself. He received a defeat of knock-out in the first half.
The defeat of Malykhin was also the first time Reinier de Ridder received defeat on the professional MMA floor. Recalling that defeat, “Dutch knights” said: “My initial feeling is really harsh. I lost not in the first half, it was unsightly. But at least I had a valuable experience.”
“Life is like that. There will be times when we are sublime in my career, and then the time to go down. My defeat is a time going down like that. That precious experience is what those who just see and comment will not understand. It helps me to focus more in the near future,” De Ridder said.
Before the match against Malykhin, De Ridder had nearly 1 year of preparation. He and the coaching staff discussed every small detail. De Ridder himself said that ignoring some small details was the reason why he lost focus on the previous match, eventually having to fail against Malykhin.