Anatoly Malykhin makes history, becomes the first Three-Division Champion

01 March 2024

The much-awaited rematch between Reinier De Ridder and Anatoly Malykhin happened at ONE 166 in Qatar.

The fight stopped in the third round this time around after Reinier De Ridder was unable to get up from the canvas after an exchange. Referee Herb Dean waived the fight off after this and gave Malykhin the much-deserved win. Malykhin was on the driving seat from the start of the fight itself and was looking for the knockout early on. De Ridder, however, fended off the challenge in the first two rounds. Some knees to the head, however, in the third round, forced De Ridder to stay on the canvas and stopped the fight. 

Reinier “The Dutch Knight” de Ridder was seeking redemption while Anatoly “Sladkiy” Malykhin was aiming for history when they rematched in the main event of ONE 166: Qatar.

Malykhin had taken the light heavyweight MMA belt from De Ridder with a first-round knockout when they first squared off in December 2022. At that time, the undefeated Russian superstar vied for unprecedented three-division glory as he challenged for the Dutchman’s ONE Middleweight MMA World Title on Friday.

ONE 166 happened at the Lusail Sports Arena in Qatar and featured the Title fight between Reinier De Ridder and Anatoly Malykhin as the main event. Earlier in the night, the fight between Arjan Bhullar and Amir Aliakbari had a controversial ending when Arjan Bhullar was given a red card and subsequently disqualified from the fight.

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Similarly, the fight between Jarred Brooks and Joshua Pacio had a controversial ending as well

ONE 166 MAIN EVENT:

Anatoliy Malykhin stops Reinier de Ridder. Malykhin, 14 fights 14 stoppages. #ONE #ONEChampionship #ONE166 #Qatar pic.twitter.com/2vhu657Vai

— Abe (@AbeMorales209) March 1, 2024