Russian star Anatoly Malykhin made history by becoming a three-division world champion in ONE Championship, capturing the heavyweight title, then moving down to dethrone then-two-division champ De Ridder twice as he claimed the light heavyweight and middleweight belts.
Despite the competitive rivalry they shared inside the ONE Championship cage, Malykhin is fully behind his former foe as “The Dutch Knight” looks to climb the ranks of the UFC’s middleweight division.
And, after De Ridder handed Bo Nickal the first loss of his professional MMA career at UFC Des Moines at the weekend, Malykhin shared a post on his Instagram story praising the Dutchman for his performance.
Malykhin posted a photo of the pair after one of their fights, with the caption “Krasavchik.” The word is a Russian term of admiration, which loosely translates as “respect, stud, good man.”
Speaking about why he shared the post, Malykhin said simply, “Because I know how brave he is.
“He’s a truly strong fighter, a former double champion of what I consider the best league in the world — ONE Championship. He had 16 finishes.
“I just wanted to give credit where it’s due — to his skills and his career. I’m sure he’ll continue performing at a high level for many years.”
Having shared the cage with him twice in world title fights, Malykhin knows De Ridder’s skillset well. But he wasn’t so complimentary when he came to the man De Ridder defeated on Saturday night.
“You know what I’ll say — who is Bo Nickal, really?” said Malykhin.
“He stepped in there against a two-division ONE champion, against a guy who’s finished some very serious opponents.
“Bo is just a hyped-up fighter. Reinier De Ridder is a real champion. I gave Bo zero chance and was sure De Ridder would handle him easily.
“De Ridder always comes forward and fights with heart. He’s got dangerous knees, strong takedown defence, and a long, awkward frame that poses a real challenge. So, yeah — all gas, no brakes, Reinier!”
De Ridder is now 3-0 in the UFC, with all three wins coming inside the distance. And Malykhin said he’s backing his old adversary to achieve more success in the UFC, though he was quick to add a reminder of who prevailed when they fought.
“I’d say this: Reinier De Ridder is a fighter who can become champion in any league,” he said.
“He’s a serious threat in any division. But when you see De Ridder winning belts — just remember that Anatoly Malykhin already dealt with him. And dominated him.”
Both De Ridder and Malykhin are examples of the world-class talent that has fought outside of the UFC, but it’s only now that UFC fans are getting to see the abilities of the Dutchman. Malykhin said the talent can be found all over the world, not just inside the Octagon.
“I’ve been saying this for a long time – the best fighters aren’t only in the UFC,” he insisted.
“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.
“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.”
