LOOK: Anatoly Malykhin looking absolutely shredded ahead of light heavyweight battle with Reinier de Ridder

At ONE on Prime Video 5, Anatoly Malykhin will step into the circle to try and crack an unsolved riddle. The ONE interim heavyweight world champion will move down a weight class to try his hand at double-champ status when he takes on Reinier de Ridder.

A double champion himself, this will be de Ridder’s first defense of his light heavyweight world championship.

When the two undefeated kings come face-to-face on December 3, one man will leave with two world championships on their shoulders.

In the build-up to this massive world title fight, a lot has been made about the size difference between the two men, with de Ridder mostly competing at middleweight and Malykhin moving down from heavyweight.

John Hutchinson, the head boxing coach at Tiger Muay Thai, recently posted a photo on Instagram of himself and Anatoly Malykhin with the Russian juggernaut looking in phenomenal shape:

“Hungry = hungry for belts 🏆🏆 BELT TIME”

The Russian has proved to be a force of destruction since debuting with ONE Championship in 2021. Producing three consecutive finishes, the big question is whether his power can prove to be the difference against the elite grappling of his Dutch opponent.

ONE on Prime Video 5 will go down in Manila in the Philippines and is free to watch live for North American viewers with a Prime subscription.

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“He’s dangerous” – Reinier de Ridder says Anatoly Malykhin is a legit challenge

At ONE on Prime Video 5, undefeated world champions Reinier de Ridder and Anatoly Malykhin will meet in the main event. With de Ridder’s light heavyweight world championship on the line for the first time, he will face an opponent unlike any he has faced in the past.

On December 3, ‘The Dutch Knight’ will face his biggest opponent to date and one of the most powerful. Malykhin has been a destructive force since debuting with ONE in 2021, winning all three of his fights via knockout.

Unwilling to wait any longer for the ONE heavyweight world champion Arjan Bhullar to return so he can attempt to unify the division, Anatoly Malykhin will look to become a two-division champion instead by challenging for the light heavyweight crown.

In an appearance on Morning Combat, Reinier de Ridder spoke about the power that Malykhin carries and how he plans on dealing with it:

"That’s the truth, man. But he’s an interesting matchup. He’s dangerous. He’s been knocking people out left and right. I’ve been strangling people unconscious left and right."

Watch the full interview here:

Reinier de Ridder will be looking to end his year in style after already having a great 2022. With two submission victories in his middleweight world title defenses and a grappling match against Andre Galvao, the Dutchman will try and maintain his undefeated record on December 3.