Reinier de Ridder-Anatoliy Malykhin 2 to Headline One Championship’s Qatar Debut

IT'S OFFICIAL 🚨 Two-division king Anatoly Malykhin challenges Reinier de Ridder for the ONE Middleweight MMA World Championship in the main event of ONE 166: Qatar 🔥 Can the Russian superstar make history and become ONE's first three-division World Champion or will "The Dutch… pic.twitter.com/bmvckSh1KG

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) December 28, 2023

ONE Championship two-division champ Anatoliy Malykhin is looking to make mixed martial arts history in March.

Per the organization via press release on Thursday, Malykhin (13-0), the reigning champion in ONE’s heavyweight and light heavyweight (225 pounds) divisions, will be dropping down to its middleweight (205 pounds) category to vie for another strap. In doing so, he will rematch Reinier de Ridder (16-1), the man he snatched the 225-pound strap from last December. The two serve as the main attraction for One 166, which will go down at the Lusail Sports Arena in Lusail, Qatar, on March 1.

When they first met at One on Prime Video 5, Malykhin held the interim heavyweight belt—a title he later unified by dominating Arjan Singh Bhullar months later—while de Ridder possessed the crowns at both the 205- and 225-pound divisions. The Russian needed less than five minutes to crush de Ridder in a Sherdog’s 2022 “Beatdown of the Year”-winning performance. In the process, the unbeaten “Sladkiy,” who still sports a 100% finish rate, handed the Dutch grappler his first career defeat. Should Malykhin win, he will become the first fighter in a major MMA league to lay claim to belts in three divisions at the same time.

De Ridder will look to defend his 205-pound strap to bounce back from his lone professional loss. The Dutch standout was previously undefeated in seven outings with ONE, including five finishes as he moved up and down divisions. Of note, he quickly submitted Aung La N Sang in October 2020 to win the 205-pound throne, and he chased Aung La up in weight 20 pounds to take his second belt from him six months later. Other than the defeat to Malykhin, de Ridder fell short in a submission grappling match against Tye Ryutolo at One on Prime Video 10, losing a spirited decision.

One 166 will be held on March 1 at the Lusail Sports Arena in Lusail, Qatar, with de Ridder vs. Malkyhin 2 as its main event. Joining them on the main card will be a strawweight (125-pound) championship affair as Jarred Brooks puts his gold on the line against former champ Joshua Pacio. Other matches currently on the billing include a heavyweight scrap between Amir Aliakbari and Bhullar, while two grapplers toe the line in a submission grappling bout of Osamah Almarwai vs. Cleber Souza.