Anatoly Malykhin says he was "huge" when he was offered Reinier de Ridder fight, decided to cut weight

ONE interim heavyweight world champion Anatoly Malykhin is in the best shape of his life heading into his world championship bout with two-division titleholder Reinier de Ridder.

The ONE light heavyweight throne will be up for grabs in the main event of ONE on Prime Video 5: De Ridder vs Malykhin this Friday, December 2, inside the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines. Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America will be able to watch the clash between the two world champions live and free of charge in US primetime.

In an interview with ONE Championship, Malykhin revealed that his superfight with the Dutchman could have happened at an earlier time. However, ‘Sladkiy’ needed some time to shed off the extra weight to make the division’s 225-pound limit.

Anatoly Malykhin shared:

“I was approached at a [show] and offered a fight with him, but I was huge, so we took a couple of days to discuss it with the manager and the team. In the end, we accepted the fight and decided to cut weight.”

Malykhin proved to be worth the wait as he arrived in Manila looking shredded and the lightest he has ever been.

Check out the Russian’s transformation from a beefy bruiser to a lean and mean wrecking machine:

After decimating his first three opponents inside the circle and winning the interim heavyweight gold strap in his last bout, ONE has rewarded Malykhin with an opportunity for two-division supremacy against a fellow undefeated fighter.

The Russian’s destructive power was on full display against Kirill Grishenko when he handed the previously unbeaten fighter his first defeat inside the circle. Malykhin flattened the Belarusian with a thunderous right hand.

It will be interesting to see how a lighter Malykhin will fare against a destroyer like de Ridder.

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Anatoly Malykhin challenges Reinier de Ridder to a stand-up war

Anatoly Malykhin is wary of the dangers that Reinier de Ridder brings, especially when the fight hits the ground. The judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, after all, has 11 career wins by submission.

While the Golden Team standout is confident that he can also hold his own on that end, Malykhin urged the Dutchman to meet him in the center of the circle and give the fans what they want.

Anatoly Malykhin told ONE Championship:

“Any wrestling is good for MMA, but especially freestyle wrestling. But I'm not going to wrestle, and neither is he, I think. Enough wrestling, de Ridder, we have to give an entertaining show, we have got to trade punches - everyone is tired of wrestling already. Let’s show some nice knockouts and have a stand-up fight.”