“I don’t feel any worry there” - Reinier de Ridder is not worried about Anatoly Malykhin’s power

ONE middleweight and light-heavyweight world champion Reinier de Ridder will be defending his 225-pound strap against ONE interim heavyweight world champion Anatoly 'Sladkiy' Malykhin at ONE on Prime Video 5. The Russian heavyweight powerhouse will move down to de Ridder's weight class with the hopes of becoming a double-champ himself.

Malykhin is currently undefeated with a 100% finishing rate. More than half of his stoppages came by way of knockout. Any sane human being will have an elevated level of concern once locked inside a cage with 'Sladkiy' - but not 'The Dutch Knight'.

In an interview with SCMP MMA, Reinier de Ridder addressed the dangerous KO power of his December 2 opponent:

"He’s a good boxer but he’s not the most technical, to be honest. He just throws looping shots, looping wild right hand. Sometimes a little bit of a tighter right hand and a left hook behind it. It’s very dangerous, but with the right preparation, I don’t feel any worry there."

Though de Ridder's assessment of Malykhin's technical prowess can be debated, what we do know is that overwhelming power can sometimes trump technique. With his nuclear fists always a danger at any moment of a fight, Malykhin only needs to connect once and the fight could over.

Reinier de Ridder, however, was correct about his final statement: with the right preparation, even the most dangerous weapons can be repelled.

Watch the full interview below:

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Reinier de Ridder will look for a stoppage win over Anatoly Malykhin at ONE on Prime Video 5

Come ONE on Prime Video 5, Anatoly Malykhin will have to cut at least 15-20 pounds to meet the light-heavyweight limit. There is some concern about whether the Russian powerhouse can beat the scale or if he does, he'll have a significant size advantage over Reinier de Ridder come fight night.

'The Dutch Knight', however, is not all too concerned about this as he believes it will not change his projected outcome: a stoppage win for him. In the interview, Reinier de Ridder said:

“That’s not something I put any energy in. It’s not something I dirty my mind with. I don’t care. Whatever weight he shows up, I’ll finish him regardless. It’s the same thing with his friend [Vitaly] Bigdash. He struggled to make weight and I think he missed like six times before finally making the weight.”

Though these are bold words coming from the undefeated ONE double-champ, he does have a track record of backing up his words. All but two of his wins ended by stoppage. Come December 2, we'll find out if 'The Dutch Knight' can once again put his words into action and whether his actions can produce results.