Reinier de Ridder vs. Anatoly Malykhin II for ONE Middleweight MMA World Title Headlines ONE 166: Qatar
ONE Championship has its headline bout for its upcoming trip to Qatar in March, Sports Illustrated has learned.
Reinier de Ridder will defend the ONE middleweight MMA world title against Anatoly Malykin at ONE 166: Qatar.
Courtesy ONE
The bout, which takes place on March 1, is a rematch from last December, when Malykhin won the light heavyweight championship and handed de Ridder the first loss of his career. Now the reigning heavyweight and light heavyweight champion, Malykin (13-0) looks to add to his title collection with the middleweight belt.
De Ridder (16-1) will attempt to avenge his only loss, as well as prevent Malykhin from becoming a ONE world champion across three different divisions.
ONE 166: Qatar also features ONE strawweight champion Jarred Brooks defending his belt against Joshua Pacio. More details on the card, which will be broadcast globally, will be announced soon.
The card also includes a heavyweight fight pitting Amir Aliakbari against Arjan Bhullar, as well as a flyweight submission bout between Osamah Almarwai and Cleber Sousa. ONE will also be involved in the community with a grassroots initiative to develop martial arts talent in the region by hosting a Road to ONE submission grappling tournament in the lead-up to ONE 166: Qatar fight week.
