Two-division ONE World Champion Reinier de Ridder is just days away from the toughest test of his MMA career. This Friday, December 2, “The Dutch Knight” will put his ONE Light Heavyweight World Title on the line against the current ONE Interim Heavyweight World Champion, Anatoly Malykhin.

When the two undefeated World Champions square off at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines, De Ridder will enter the Circle as the taller combatant. However, he knows his shorter and stockier challenger is a supremely dangerous fighter with real, heavyweight knockout power.

Reinier De Ridder intends to match Anatoly Malykhin in striking as well

Indeed, the man known as “Sladkiy” has finished all three of his ONE Championship bouts by way of devastating KO. De Ridder, the reigning middleweight and light heavyweight king, recognizes Malykhin’s fight-stopping power. Still, he isn’t too concerned about it.

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“Well, he’s dangerous, of course,” the Dutchman said. “We’ve seen in his previous fights, he knocks people out. He’s wild. He’s explosive. He’s an interesting opponent, but he doesn’t bring anything really special to the table.” Even though he’s a grappling and submission specialist, De Ridder enters this World Title showdown confident that he can hang with the Russian on the feet.

“He Doesn’t Bring Anything Really Special” – Despite Respecting Anatoly Malykhin’s Brutal Striking Reinier De Ridder Is Confident About a Victory

That confidence comes, in part, from the Dutch fighter’s back-to-back victories over former two-division ONE World Champion Aung La N Sang in 2020 and 2021. In both of those bouts, De Ridder successfully avoided “The Burmese Python’s” sensational striking and world-renowned power.

Reinier De Ridder intends to be sharp and add takedowns to his game

According to “The Dutch Knight,” Malykhin’s stand-up arsenal isn’t any better than Aung La N Sang’s striking.

“He is dangerous, so I really need to watch everything and be very sharp. But he’s not special,” De Ridder reasserts. “He has a hard right hand, pretty similar to Aung La. He needs a little bit of space to leap in with a large, loopy right hand, which he catches people with pretty often. And then Aung La has better kicks. And he has a better left hand, better left hook.”

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To avoid Malykhin’s concussive power, De Ridder says he’ll need to be on his A-game. That game includes blending his stand-up repertoire with his grappling prowess and bringing the Russian to the mat when the opportunity presents itself.

“So striking-wise, I need to get close in my range. Keep him at the end of my punches. Be sharp, and make sure I mix it up with my takedowns,” he concluded.