More than a year later, Reinier de Ridder will have have his shot at revenge against Anatoly Malykhin.
Undefeated Malykhin (13-0), the reigning ONE Championship light heavyweight and heavyweight title holder, will put his 225-pound belt on the line when he runs things back with de Ridder (16-1) on March 1 at Lusail Sports Arena in Lusail, Qatar. The rematch will serve as the headliner for ONE 166.
Malykhin handed de Ridder the first loss of his career and took the title in December 2022 when he finished him in the first round at ONE Fight Night 5. After that, Malykhin went on to claim the undisputed ONE heavyweight title this past June when he stopped Arjan Bhullar with ground and pound in Round 3. It was Malykhin’s only fight of 2023.
De Ridder, the reigning ONE middleweight champ, didn’t compete in MMA in 2023. He took part in a grappling match this past May at ONE Fight Night 10, which he lost to Tye Ruotolo by unanimous decision.
