
After winning One Championship’s light heavyweight and heavyweight MMA titles, Anatoly Malykhin is now gearing up to snatch his third belt from Reinier De Ridder at ONE 166 in Qatar on March 1. However, with a huge amount of weight to shed, the two-division champ would have to stick to some serious practices and regiments to hit the middleweight requirement.
The event will be a monumental moment in the One Championship history, with Malykhin being the first-ever fighter of the promotion to hold three belts at once in case he wins against De Ridder. Fortunately for Malykhin, achieving this is not impossible due to his history with De Ridder.
To recall, the Russian met “The Dutch Knight” in December 2022 and managed to win via a first-round knockout. If Malykhine executes the right steps again, he could soon find himself having his second victory over the Dutch. Yet, before that, the heavyweight fighter must cut some weight to enter the cage without any issue.
According to Malykhin, he’s now in the process of shedding the weight. Aside from additional cardio routines, “Sladkiy” said he’s also now regulating his food intake, ensuring he won’t eat anything past a certain time.
“The main strategy is to… after 6 p.m.,” the fighter shared (via Sportskeeda). “If I don’t come near the fridge after that, I’m fine – I’m making weight. It is clear that cardio is also important, but the main thing is not to raid the fridge after 6 p.m.”
This will be a huge chance for Malykhin to make a mark in One Championship by becoming its first talent to hold three titles. Yet, the Russian will certainly face a desperate opponent in this bout. Aside from his earlier loss to Malykhin, De Ridder is currently enduring a two-fight skid, with the latest loss given by Tye Ruotolo in May. With this, despite defeating the Dutch opponent before, it is certain that Malykhin will find a more aggressive and desperate De Ridder in the cage in March.