To do so, he will renew an old rivalry with Reinier de Ridder with the ONE middleweight world title on the line – a win would add that gold to Malykhin’s current light-heavyweight and heavyweight crowns.
De Ridder will be keen for lightning not to strike twice, as it was Malykhin who relived him of his light-heavyweight title when the pair met in December last year – a loss that was also the Dutchman’s first as a professional.
Now on Friday, March 1, the Russian superstar will move down a weight class again and attempt to become the first three-division MMA World Champion at Lusail Sports Arena in Qatar.
In their previous bout, unlike anyone before him, Malykhin brilliantly defended takedowns from the long-limbed grappler and utilised his heavy boxing repertoire to knock out the Dutchman in the first round.
Now, all roads lead to the main event of ONE 166: Qatar, and each man has everything to fight for.
De Ridder has a chance to even the score, hand Malykhin his first professional loss, and prove he is the best middleweight mixed martial artist on the planet.
But for Malykhin, history is calling. If he defeats the Dutchman one more time, “Sladkiy” would become the first three-division World Champion in MMA.
