Anatoly Malykhin to UFC fans: Remember that I already dealt with Reinier de Ridder

Two-weight ONE World Champion Anatoly Malykhin has heaped praise on rival and former two-division king Reinier de Ridder. But not before reminding everyone of his own prowess.

De Ridder scored his third consecutive stoppage victory in the UFC this past Saturday, 3 May, putting an end to the surging Bo Nickal in the second round by TKO.

Having duelled with the Dutchman twice, Malykhin is all too familiar with his abilities, so he’s far from surprised by the success de Ridder is having.

However, Malykhin stopped de Ridder on both occasions to claim the middleweight and light-heavyweight crowns in ONE Championship. So no matter what his rival goes on to accomplish, “Sladkiy” wants fans to never forget his performances.

“Reinier de Ridder is a fighter who can become champion in any league. He’s a serious threat in any division,” Malykhin said.

“But when you see de Ridder winning belts, just remember that Anatoly Malykhin already dealt with him. And dominated him.”

Anatoly Malykhin believes elite fighters aren’t just in the UFC

Two-weight ONE World Champion Anatoly Malykhin mixes it up on the mats with elite combatants on a daily basis, and he believes they aren’t all within the confines of the UFC.

He goes on to say that the mystique around being a UFC signed athlete is just that and nothing more.

In ONE Championship alone, former UFC star Eddie Alvarez, and European standout Roberto Soldic had a tough time adjusting to the Asia-based promotion’s roster.

The world was also shook when former ONE Flyweight MMA World Champion Demetrious Johnson suffered a knockout loss to divisional superstar Adriano Moraes in 2022.

Malykhin goes on to say he hasn’t always been impressed by the UFC’s roster. He reaffirms his statement that the best fighters are all around the world.

“I’ve been saying this for a long time — the best fighters aren’t only in the UFC. Sure, they have great talent, but so do other promotions. The UFC was just the first major promotion to hit the market, and it got the most hype — that’s why people assume it has all the best guys,” he said.

“But I’ve trained with many UFC fighters and honestly, they’re just regular fighters, regular people. You can beat them, and they can beat you. Every league has exceptional athletes. The elite is everywhere.”