Russian powerhouse Anatoly Malykhin found the answer to Reinier de Ridder’s reign of dominance as he captured the ONE light heavyweight title in stunning fashion at ONE on Prime Video 5.

Interim heavyweight champion Malykhin and middleweight and light heavyweight champ De Ridder faced off in the main event at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines, where the Russian’s combination of takedown defense and heavy-duty punch power proved to be “The Dutch Knight’s” Kryptonite.

De Ridder had torn through the opposition in ONE Championship, and defeated then-two-division king Aung La N Sang twice to capture the middleweight and light heavyweight titles.

But his 16-fight undefeated run came to an abrupt end at the hands of Malykhin who, despite being the bigger, heavier man, looked faster and sharper as he effectively nullified De Ridder’s suffocating ground game at source, leaving him free to let his fists fly to devastating effect.

Malykhin’s punches, along with some smart shot selection, punished De Ridder whenever he came into range as he hammered the Dutchman with heavy punches to the head and the body. The Russian’s wrestling was more than good enough to stop De Ridder from taking the fight to the mat, leaving the Dutchman to put his trust in his striking.

However, Malykin had the clear edge on the feet as he consistently clipped the two-division champ with power punches. Then, in the final minute of the round, Malykhin made the breakthrough.

Another salvo of shots left De Ridder in trouble against the cage fence, and a big uppercut, followed by a huge right hand, sent the defending champion to the canvas.

Malykhin moved in and finished the job with a barrage of hammerfists to force the bout to be waved off at with 25 seconds of the first round remaining.

It meant that Malykhin extended his own perfect professional record to 12-0, while handing De Ridder the first defeat of his career as he dropped to 16-1. It also earned Malykhin two $50,000 bonuses from ONE chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong, as the big Russian’s biggest night ended with an even bigger payday.

ONE on Prime Video 5: Official Results

MAIN CARD

  • Anatoly Malykhin def. Reinier de Ridder via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:35 – for light heavyweight title
  • Kade Ruotolo def. Matheus Gabriel via unanimous decision – for lightweight submission grappling title
  • Roberto Soldic vs. Murad Ramazanov ruled a no contest (accidental groin strike) – Round 1
  • Jackie Buntan def. Amber Kitchen via unanimous decision – Muay Thai bout
  • Lowen Tynanes def. Dae Sung Park via split decision

LEAD CARD

  • Edson Marques def. Eduard Folayang via knockout (punch) – Round 2, 2:53
  • Tye Ruotolo def. Marat Gafurov via submission (wrist lock) – 5:09 – submission grappling match
  • Oumar Kane def. Zhasur Mirzamukhamedov via unanimous decision
  • Denice Zamboanga def. Lin Heqin via split decision