Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida believes Anatoly “Sladkiy” Malykhin’s game plan aided him tremendously in his quest to knock Reinier “The Dutch Knight” De Ridder off the top of the light heavyweight mountain. Malykhin and De Ridder’s battle served as the main event of ONE on Prime Video 5 earlier this month. With both fighters’ undefeated records at stake, most fans expected this ONE Light Heavyweight World Title clash to be a nail-biting contest from start to finish.

However, Malykhin ensured it was all one-way traffic from the get-go. He shut out any hopes of “The Dutch Knight” taking the contest into his area of expertise and delivered hard-hitting strikes every time De Ridder was within range. 

The Breda native, unfortunately, didn’t get the notice, and he continuously attempted to take the striking specialist to the canvas, making life much easier for Malykhin. 

Anatoly Malykhin impressed Marcus Almeida

With his foe within striking distance, “Sladkiy” went from body to face, scoring a mix of uppercuts, body shots, and hooks that pushed the grappling specialist against the Circle wall.

“Buchecha” was clearly impressed by what he saw at that point of the match. He particularly noticed how efficient and sharp Malykhin was when attacking and defending “The Dutch Knight’s” takedown attempts.

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“The strategy [Malykhin] used was very good. He used the body shot a lot due to the difference in size, so he ended up opening space, and De Ridder ended up lowering his hand,” the multiple-time BJJ World Champion offered. 

“In the beginning, [De Ridder] tried some judo takedowns, but as Anatoly is a short, compact guy and a wrestling specialist, RDR’s strategy was not working.”

Once Malykhin asserted his dominance, it was clearly only a matter of time before the ONE Interim Heavyweight World Champion added the light heavyweight crown to his list of accolades inside the Circle.

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He went to work with De Ridder’s back on the Circle Wall, and another uppercut and a right-hand combination dropped him to the canvas. 

The Russian swarmed the Dutchman from there, connecting with a barrage of hammer fists that eventually forced the referee to intervene, handing him the win at 4:35 of the opening stanza.

Buchecha respects both fighters’ efforts

Regardless of the one-sided proceedings, Almeida still feels it was a satisfying showing from both parties.

“Anatoly had a better day and managed to impose his game. [De Ridder] switched strategies and started trying other wrestling takedowns, but Anatoly managed to thwart his actions. But it was a great fight,” the Brazilian said.

It was indeed a perfect fight for ONE to end another year filled with nonstop martial arts action. 

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At the same time, it provided fans insight into what they can expect from inside the ONE Circle in the coming 12 months.