"A different beast" - Anatoly Malykhin's brutal beatdown of Reinier de Ridder has fans shouting for his terrifying power
Russian knockout artist Anatoly Malykhin proved that he's on a different level against former two-division MMA world champion Reinier de Ridder when he knocked him out in the opening round of their first meeting in Dec. 2022.
The two headlined the ONE on Prime Video 5 card inside the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philipines, as they battled for the ONE light heavyweight MMA world title. The promotion republished its full fight replay on their YouTube channel with the video description:
"Before undefeated three-division MMA World Champion Anatoly Malykhin defends his heavyweight throne against Senegalese sensation Reug Reug at ONE 169 on November 8, witness the Russian superstar's dominant performance to snatch the light heavyweight belt from then-unbeaten Reinier de Ridder at ONE Fight Night 5 in 2022!"
'Sladkiy' stopped all the takedown attempts from 'The Dutch Knight' and punished him on the feet with vicious punches that bloodied the defending world champion.
Eventually, Malykhin finished off the match with thunderous punches on de Ridder's head until he was sent to the shadow realm and officially became the new king of the division.
This display of power by the Golden Team representative has made the fans' jaw drop, especially users @GregsKitchen, @NateSmith87, @greenpenn6260, @weekendnachos_2049, @kennwin, and @tonyrome068, who commented:
"Those body shots 😮"
"Absolute unit"
"Malykhin is a different beast, he's now my most favorite mma fighter."
"Anatoly has a Big hands 👊🏻 for sure - and you don't want to ABSORB punches like that ‼️"
"Even Islam Makhachev gave props to Anatoly! Real recognize real!"
"Russian Tyson. One punch and its Rund Forest, run"
Anatoly Malykhin says that Oumar Kane won't be able to beat him because he doesn't love fighting
The reigning three-division MMA world champion is preparing for his upcoming heavyweight title defense against Oumar Kane on Nov. 8 at ONE 169, which will take place at the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
Ahead of that championship fight, Malykhin had an interview with ONE Championship, where he talked about the chances of 'Reug Reug' in that match, saying:
"He [Reug Reug] doesn't love fighting. This is a necessary measure for him. A man who lives in fear and doesn't love fighting will never be able to beat me."