RDR Gifts Jon Jones’ Replacement to Tom Aspinall With HW Rival’s UFC Push

Tom Aspinall probably needs the fight against Jon Jones, even though he’s not really chasing the consensus GOAT. That fight may help him achieve his goal of becoming the best heavyweight, as the division is facing some serious issues. Lackluster title fights and the lack of credible names have fans concerned about the future of the division. Meanwhile, middleweight star Reinier de Ridder appears to have a solution for this problem.

Prior to Reinier de Ridder’s debut in the UFC, the Dutchman made a name for himself in ONE Championship. He even became a double champion. However, ‘RDR’ was not able to conquer one of his opponents, and guess what? That one opponent handed the middleweight star both of his professional defeats. And his name’s Anatoly Malykhin.

Anatoly Malykhin made history last year when he became the first MMA fighter to hold three belts simultaneously — the middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight titles. Fans couldn’t talk enough about the Russian star, which brings us to Reinier de Ridder and what he said in a recent interview. Given that Malykhin has fought as a heavyweight, the Dutchman has no doubts that he’ll be an excellent addition to the UFC’s roster.

Not only does Reinier de Ridder claim Anatoly Malykhin will be great for the UFC, but he also claims that he wants to get a win back in a trilogy fight. However, now that ‘RDR’ has transitioned from ONE FC to the UFC, he will have a difficult time getting the trilogy bout. After all, the Singapore-based promotion almost sued him. As such, de Ridder believes there could be similar struggles for Malykhin that would discourage him from thinking of a move to UFC.

“Definitely [I will love to see Malykhin in UFC]. But the question is, is that possible?” As Reinier de Ridder spoke with MMA Fighting, he added, “Exactly, [there’s a problem with the heavyweight division]. But there’s a lot of stuff that goes into that. We’ll see… It would be cool to see him over [here in the UFC]. Before the end of my career, I would like one more [fight against Malykhin]. So, we’ll see how it all comes together.”

Anatoly Malykhin is 37 years old and still has a lot to offer in the MMA world. A fight between him and Tom Aspinall could prove to be a box office hit, but that’s an ‘if’ for now. However, it appears that Malykhin is pretty happy with him fighting under the ONE banner, as he made surprising comments about the mystique surrounding UFC fighters.

Anatoly Malykhin claims some UFC fighters are ‘regular fighters’

When Kai Asakura, Patricio Pitbull, and even Patchy Mix made their debuts in the UFC, they struggled and failed in their first fight. The fight community started talking about levels and how fighters in the UFC are way better than those in rival promotions. However, Anatoly Malykhin begs to differ, as he claims to have trained with some of them from Dana White‘s promotion. And from what he can tell, he sees nothing out of the ordinary.

“I’ve been saying this for a long time—the best fighters aren’t only in the UFC. Sure, they have great talent, but so do other promotions. The UFC was just the first major promotion to hit the market, and it got the most hype—that’s why people assume it has all the best guys,” Anatoly Malykhin said this past May. “But I’ve trained with many UFC fighters, and honestly, they’re just regular fighters, regular people. You can beat them, and they can beat you. Every league has exceptional athletes. The elite is everywhere.”

Well, does this mean Reinier de Ridder’s former rival will never consider a move to the UFC? Well, that’s hard to say because Dana White’s promotion could sway him with a good financial proposition. However, the CEO has never mentioned Anatoly Malykhin’s name in any of his public appearances. It remains to be seen if the Russian star can make it to the UFC while he’s still at the top of his game. Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.