“Nothing beats hard work” - Anatoly Malykhin boasts leaner frame ahead of light heavyweight fight with Reinier de Ridder

ONE interim heavyweight world champion Anatoly Malykhin is done waiting for reigning heavyweight titleholder Arjan Bhullar. ‘Sladkiy’ will instead look to become a two-division world champion when he challenges undefeated Dutch star, Reinier de Ridder at ONE on Prime Video 5 this December.

ONE on Prime Video 5 broadcasts live on US primetime and is free to watch with a Prime Video subscription.

Heading into the main event showdown, Anatoly Malykhin is giving fans a glimpse into his training and lean build in a recent video clip posted on Instagram.

“A dream does not become reality without sweat, determination, and hard work. Nothing beats Hard Work. New Light heavyweight king @anmalykhin 🏆🏆"

Check out the Instagram post below:

When both men ready to step into the circle on December 2, there will be more on the line than the world title. Reinier de Ridder and Anatoly Malykhin will enter the contest with undefeated records. ‘The Dutch Knight’ holds a record of 16-0, including seven straight in ONE, while ‘Sladkiy’ is 11-0 with three-in-a-row inside the circle.

Both fighters are coming off massive wins, with Malykhin scoring the interim heavyweight title in his last outing, knocking out Belarusian fighter Kirill Grishenko. In July, ‘The Dutch Knight’ delivered perhaps the best performance of his career thus far, submitting former middleweight world champion Vitaly Bigdash in the first round with a slick inverted triangle choke.

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Can Reinier de Ridder continue smashing champions when he meets Anatoly Malykhin?

‘The Dutch Knight’ Reinier de Ridder has been nothing short of impressive in his ONE Championship run thus far. Capturing both the middleweight and light heavyweight world titles in back-to-back wins against Asian MMA legend Aung La N Sang, de Ridder has quickly established himself as a destroyer of champions. ‘The Dutch Knight’ even acknowledged that reputation in a post on Instagram.

“I run through champions. Watch me close out the year big! 👑”

Since becoming a two-division titleholder, Reinier de Ridder has developed a resume full of victories over reigning and former world champions including Aung La, Bigdash, and current welterweight titleholder, Kiamrian Abbasov. Moving up to challenge ‘The Dutch Knight’ proved to be a big mistake for Abbasov, who suffered a third-round submission loss in their meeting at ONE: Full Circle in February.

Reinier de Ridder followed that victory up with a dominant win over another former world champion, Vitaly Bigdash. Squaring off at ONE 159 in July, de Ridder delivered a spectacular first-round finish against the Russian juggernaut. ‘The Dutch Knight’ will look to add another titleholder to his hitlist on December 3, when he meets the heavy-hitting Anatoly Malykhin.