“I don't see any difference in my physicality” - Anatoly Malykhin on his strength in moving to light heavyweight

At ONE on Prime Video 5, Anatoly Malykhin will face Reinier de Ridder for his light heavyweight world championship. As the interim heavyweight champion looks to move down a weight class, Malykhin has been preparing his body for the drop in weight.

After capturing the interim heavyweight world championship, a unification fight with Arjan Bhullar was seemingly next for Malykhin. However, the fight has not yet materialized due to Bhullar suffering an injury.

After proving himself at heavyweight, a big part of this fight will be seeing how the champion fares moving down a weight against a natural light heavyweight. The size difference is sure to be an advantage that Malykhin can use in the fight.

In an interview with ONE Championship, the Russian spoke about how he is feeling and how his body has reacted to his preparations:

“I feel good, I work with a nutritionist, and my wife helps me. I am rested and full. The weight is going down well, too. I don't see any difference in my physicality, I feel comfortable. I just eat less. I don't eat sweets, though I feel like it sometimes.”

If Anatoly Malykhin’s size can prevent ‘The Dutch Knight’ from taking him down, the Russian’s power advantage poses a huge threat to the defending champion.

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Arjan Bhullar says Anatoly Malykhin is "absolute garbage" if he doesn’t knock out Reinier de Ridder

Reigning ONE heavyweight world champion Arjan Bhullar will be watching Reinier de Ridder and Anatoly Malykhin from the sidelines on December 2.

With two of his most bitter rivals fighting each other in the main event of ONE on Prime Video 5, Bhullar was always going to have a lot to say about the matchup.

In a recent interview with ONE Championship, Bhullar spoke about the two undefeated fighters and their highly anticipated matchup. ‘Singh’ said:

“RDR is a specialist in jiu-jitsu. Malykhin is a wrestler who’s falling in love with his hands. Both have got undefeated records.”

Arjan Bhullar shares the view of the fans that the fight will not go the distance. The general consensus is that it will be de Ridder’s submission skills versus the knockout power of Malykhin.

For Bhullar, however, he thinks the pressure is on Malykhin to knock de Ridder out:

“RDR’s stand-up is so sloppy. If Anatoly doesn’t catch him, he’s absolute garbage. So, the pressure’s on both of them to come up with something, but more for Anatoly, in my opinion.”

Whilst Bhullar has been out for a long time, he will be eyeing up the winner as a potential matchup for his return. He’s had a lot to say about both men in his time away from competition, but on December 2, it’s all about Anatoly Malykhin and Reinier de Ridder.

ONE on Prime Video 5: De Ridder vs. Malykhin broadcasts live on Friday, December 2, and is free for fans in the United States and Canada with an Amazon Prime subscription.