In an upcoming rematch, Reinier de Ridder, the former ONE light heavyweight MMA world champion, reflects on his past loss to Anatoly Malykhin, acknowledging that he may have aimed too high against the formidable Russian fighter.
De Ridder, known as ‘The Dutch Knight’, suffered a devastating defeat in his last encounter with Malykhin, a knockout that cost him his light heavyweight title. Now, as he prepares to face Malykhin once again in the ONE 166: Qatar headliner on March 1, de Ridder will put his last remaining belt, the ONE middleweight MMA world championship, on the line.
In a candid documentary produced by Threepeat Media, de Ridder admits to contemplating whether he overestimated his abilities in facing Malykhin, especially considering his move up in weight class.
“This is just how fights go,” de Ridder reflects. “That’s just how fights would go until they didn’t go like that. I was training with heavyweight and I was doing my thing as well so I was like, ‘F*ck it. Let’s see if I can go even further.’”
Anatoly Malykhin, meanwhile, has been on a remarkable streak since claiming de Ridder’s light heavyweight title. He solidified his position by defeating Arjan Bhullar in a world title unification clash, thus becoming the undisputed heavyweight champion at ONE Friday Fights 22 in June.
Should Malykhin emerge victorious once again against de Ridder, he will etch his name in history as ONE Championship’s first simultaneous three-division world champion.
As the rematch approaches, the question looms: Will Malykhin make history, or will de Ridder reclaim his title and even the score against his Russian adversary?
