Anatoly Malykhin is not done chasing history at ONE 166.
On Thursday, ONE Championship announced the ONE Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight World Champion will go for three-division gold against a familiar foe at ONE 166 on Friday, March 1. Malykhin will try to dethrone ONE Middleweight MMA World Champion Reinier De Ridder in Qatar to become the sport's first-ever three-division king.
Malykhin has plenty of reasons to be confident for this rematch. When the two first met at ONE Fight Night 5, the Russian decimated "The Dutch Knight" to claim the light heavyweight crown. His strength and power proved to be too much. But he will need to make the middleweight limit, which will add a layer of intrigue to how he acclimates to the lower weight division. He enters De Ridder's most dangerous weight division to try and topple the talented Dutchman in one of the year's biggest events.
De Ridder will also be motivated to redeem himself against "Sladkiy" after their previous encounter. "The Dutch Knight" was unbeaten when he ran up against the heavyweight king and could never employ his gameplan in their meeting. De Ridder will try to utilize his length and incredible grappling to get the win back and retain the gold.
The ONE Middleweight MMA World Championship bout will headline an incredible card that will also feature ONE Straw weight MMA World Champion Jarred Brooks vs. Joshua Pacio and much more.
ONE 166: Qatar airs live on Friday, March 1, from the Lusail Sports Arena.
More bouts will be added in the weeks to come.