Anatoly Malykhin will go down in history as the first three-division titleholder in a major promotion after recording a third-round technical knockout over ONE Championship middleweight boss Reinier de Ridder.
will go down in history as the first three-division titleholder in a major promotion after recording a third-round technical knockout overRight from the opening bell, Malykhin began pressing his opponent against the fence, unleashing powerful punches against “The Dutch Knight,” who looked to clinch and land knees against his advancing foe. De Ridder eventually managed to momentarily drop his opponent with a punch-low kick combo in response to the Russian’s swift punching attack.
The third stanza commenced with Malykhin once again pushing his foe to the fence with an onslaught of punches to the body and head. An exhausted de Ridder shot for a takedown that was easily thwarted by the Russian. Malykhin then proceeded to gain top position and began to rain down heavy ground-and-pound, eventually sneaking in a devastating knee before escaping a submission attempt and getting back to his feet.
The second frame opened with Tang taking the center and eventually landing a solitary left hook. The Chinese national then proceeded to land two thunderous hooks, damaging Le’s nose. Tang seemed to have found his rhythm by regularly landing body shots on the interim champion, who also managed to land a stiff combo to damage Tang’s nose. Regardless, as the round progressed, Tang managed to do more damage while keeping his opponent on the back foot.
Both fighters received a second yellow card barely two minutes into Round 3, once again due to inactivity. As the round progressed, Le managed to take the center of the cage with single strikes, only to be forced back by Tang’s body kicks and punches. Both fighters continued to exchange on their feet and both managed to land effective shots, although Tang seemed to be less fatigued.