‘Buchecha’ breaks down Anatoly Malykhin’s epic knockout of Reinier de Ridder

Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida has been one of the most unstoppable forces in ONE Championship since his transition to MMA. Boasting one of the most decorated resumes ever seen in submission grappling, Almeida has finished all four of his opponents inside the circle .

Alongside 'Buchecha', Anatoly Malykhin has been the other rising force in the heavyweight division. The Russian has gone 3-0 in the weight class, also stopping all of his opponents.

At ONE on Prime Video 5, Malykhin became a two-division world champion after defeating Reinier de Ridder via first-round knockout to claim the ONE light heavyweight strap, which he added to his ONE interim heavyweight world title.

In an interview with ONE Championship, 'Buchecha' gave his thoughts on Malykhin’s performance:

“Anatoly had a better day and managed to impose his game. The strategy he 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. That's when Anatoly started hitting the head and one of those knocked RDR out."

He continued:

"I think Anatoly had a better strategy than Reinier de Ridder. In the beginning, he tried some judo takedowns, but as Anatoly is a short, compact guy and a wrestling specialist, RDR’s strategy was not working. He switched strategies and started trying other wrestling takedowns, so Anatoly managed to thwart his actions. But it was a great fight!”

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Anatoly Malykhin on potential fight with BJJ legend ‘Buchecha’: “I will have to update my skills in jiu-jitsu”

Anatoly Malykhin has a whole list of opponents whom he could potentially face next, including Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida.

At ONE on Prime Video 5, Malykhin pulled off the upset in the main event by becoming the first man to beat Reinier de Ridder, doing so in devastating fashion.

Having captured the ONE light heavyweight world title in the process, Malykhin’s double-champion status has put a target on his back. It remains unclear whether Malykhin will return to heavyweight or continue to compete outside of his natural weight class in hopes of making history by claiming a world title in a third division.

The Russian was asked about the potential of facing another submission expert in Marcus Almeida during his post-event press conference.

Malykhin said:

“I like 'Buchecha', he's a good guy, maybe I’ll fight 'Buchecha' next year. I really like him as a person so I wouldn't want to fight him honestly. But if he keeps calling me out, of course, I will accept the fight but he and de Ridder, I cannot compare them because he's so much better than Reinier in jiu-jitsu. So if I happen to fight him, I will have to update my skills in jiu-jitsu.”

Watch the presser below: