SUMMARY
- ONE 166: Qatar was an exciting event that was full of surprises and fireworks.
- Russian powerhouse Anatoly Malykhin created MMA history against Reinier de Ridder in the main event.
ONE Championship returned to Middle Eastern soil for the first time in a decade on Friday, 1 March, and what followed was a historic night of combat sports action across four fighting disciplines inside Doha’s Lusail Sports Arena at ONE 166: Qatar.
Anatoly Malykhin made history in the headliner by capturing the ONE Middleweight MMA World Title to become the first ever three-weight MMA World Champion for any major promotion. Malykhin’s relentless pressure on Reinier de Ridder was clear from the first bell, as he attacked the Dutchman’s body to control the fight.
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And after dropping three weight classes, the Russian’s endurance could not be questioned. He peppered De Ridder en route to finding the TKO at 1:16 of the third frame to add the ONE Middleweight MMA World Championship to his collection and remain unbeaten at 14-0 with 10 knockouts.
In the co-main event, ONE Featherweight MMA World Champion Tang Kai unified the division’s gold when he stopped interim champ Thanh Le by TKO in the third round. The Chinese ace was the difference in the narrow contest, pushing the pace across the duration to land right hands frequently.
TANG KAI GOES BOOM TO GET THE BELT #ONE166 pic.twitter.com/nvDWq1rFNv
— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) March 1, 2024
Eventually, Tang landed on Le’s chin to drop his man before following up with the final strikes to successfully unify the World Titles and leave no doubt as to who sits at the top of the featherweight MMA division.
The first World Title rematch of the night saw Joshua Pacio claim the ONE Strawweight MMA World Title under freakish circumstances against Jarred Brooks. The Filipino attempted a kimura against the fence, allowing Brooks to lift Pacio in search of a takedown.
Joshua Pacio reclaims the ONE Strawweight MMA World Title by disqualification due to an illegal spike by Jarred Brooks.
Tune in NOW to catch the rest of ONE 166: Qatar!
🔴 Live Now#ONE166: Qatar presented by @visitqatar@mediacityqa @ooredooqatar
🇶🇦 Watch live on beIN SPORTS… pic.twitter.com/a0gX8PkeRK— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) March 1, 2024
But in countering Pacio’s submission attempt, Brooks spiked his adversary on the top of his head, leading to the American being disqualified at 56 seconds of the bout’s opening frame. Pacio was then awarded the ONE Strawweight MMA World Title.
ONE 166: Qatar Full results
● Anatoly Malykhin defeats Reinier de Ridder via TKO (referee stoppage – ground strikes) at 1:16 of round three to claim the ONE Middleweight MMA World Title
● Tang Kai defeats Thanh Le via TKO (referee stoppage – ground-and-pound) at 4:48 of round three to unify the ONE Featherweight MMA World Title
● Joshua Pacio defeats Jarred Brooks via disqualification at 0:56 to reclaim the ONE Strawweight MMA World Title
● Amir Aliakbari defeats Arjan Bhullar via disqualification at 4:15 of round three (MMA – heavyweight)
Here are your winners from a historic night at ONE 166: Qatar 🇶🇦 Which performance stole the spotlight? 🔥#ONE166: Qatar presented by @visitqatar@mediacityqa @ooredooqatar
Watch the full ONE166: Qatar event replay on
🇺🇸🇨🇦 Prime 👉 https://t.co/ykAJQxXIM1
🇬🇧🇮🇪 Sky Sports
🌍… pic.twitter.com/vFX97kogBY— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) March 1, 2024
● Mehdi Zatout defeats Zuhayr Al-Qahtani via unanimous decision (boxing – catchweight 147 lbs)
● Vladimir Kuzmin defeats Zafer Sayik via unanimous decision (Muay Thai – catchweight 147.75 lbs)
● Cleber Sousa defeats Osamah Almarwai via submission (armbar) at 5:31 of round one (submission grappling – flyweight)
● Ali Saldoev defeats Zakaria El Jamari via KO (left hook combination) at 0:51 of round two (Muay Thai – flyweight)
● Shinji Suzuki defeats Han Zi Hao via unanimous decision (Muay Thai – bantamweight)
● Keito Yamakita defeats Jeremy Miado via submission (bulldog choke) at 4:04 of round one (MMA – strawweight)
Did you catch the event? If you did, what was your favorite fight? Let us know in the comments below.