ONE Championship (ONE), the world’s largest martial arts organization, today announced that current ONE Middleweight MMA World Champion Reinier de Ridder (16-1) (Netherlands) and ONE MMA World Champion ONE heavyweight and light heavyweight, announced a rematch with Anatoly. Russia’s Malihin (13-0) will headline ONE 166: Qatar, hosted by Visit Qatar, on Friday, March 1 at the Lusail Sports Arena.
Tickets for ONE 166: Qatar are now available at Virgin Megastore and Q-Tickets.
At ONE Fight Night 5 last December, Malihin, already the interim ONE Heavyweight MMA World Champion, handed De Ridder the only loss of his career and won the light heavyweight title. The undefeated Russian became a two-division world champion in ONE Race, a feat only a handful of athletes have accomplished. Now, “Sladky” wants to make history and become ONE MMA World Champion in three different divisions. Meanwhile, the “Dutch Knight” will try to match Malihin on the biggest stage possible. The submission specialist became a two-division world champion in his own right, riding a seven-fight winning streak, including five at ONE, before suffering his first loss.
ONE 166: In Qatar, reigning ONE MMA Strawweight World Champion Jared Brooks (USA) will defend his title against Joshua Pacio (Philippines) in a long-awaited world championship rematch. The card will also feature a clash of MMA heavyweight contenders, with Iranian powerhouse Amir Aliakbari taking on former ONE World Heavyweight Champion Arjan Brar of India.
Additionally, former ONE flyweight submission wrestling world title challengers will square off, with Yemeni and Saudi BJJ black belt Osama Almarwai taking on former IBJJF world champion Clever Souza of Brazil.
As part of its grassroots efforts to foster martial arts talent in the region, ONE will also host a Road to ONE Submission Grappling tournament during fight week leading up to ONE 166: Qatar. Additional matches for the ONE 166: Qatar and Road to ONE tournaments will be announced in the coming weeks.
ONE 166: Qatar will be broadcast in the Middle East region on beIN SPORTS. Details on how to watch the global broadcast, which will be available in more than 190 countries, will be announced at a later date.
Roberto Villa is the CEO, Founder, Executive Writer and Senior Editor of FightBook MMA. He is passionate about combat sports and is also a podcast host for Sitting Ringside. He is also a former MMA fighter and Kickboxer.
