“I’m not bulletproof” – Reinier de Ridder admits Anatoly Malykhin defeat was a harsh reality check

Former two-division MMA world champion Reinier de Ridder thought that he was an unstoppable force until he crossed paths with Anatoly Malykhin in December 2022 at ONE on Prime Video 5.

That matchup with Malykhin has given him a hard pill to swallow – that he is not invincible because de Ridder was brutally knocked out in the opening round with vicious combinations from the Russian powerhouse.

‘The Dutch Knight’ was sent back crashing down to reality when he sustained that loss, and he openly discussed with SCMP MMA in a recent interview that he learned a lot from that setback, as he narrated:

“I've really gotten to a more balanced point [of mindset]. As you say, I always came out to 'Can’t Be Touched' by Roy Jones Jr, it’s always been my walkout song, and it was truly how I felt going in there, it didn’t matter whoever was in front of me.”

Reinier de Ridder continued:

“To me, I knew I had to adjust to him, just going to take him down and choke him out regardless. But as we saw in that fight, I’m not bulletproof, I can be touched. So that really changed a lot.”

See the interview below:

Now, de Ridder is looking to put that devastating defeat behind him as he looks to avenge it in his upcoming rematch with ‘Sladkiy’ in the headliner of ONE 166 on March 1, which will go down inside the Lusail Sports Arena in Qatar.

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Reinier de Ridder reveals that he improved his mental preparation in second meeting with Anatoly Malykhin

As difficult as it is to forget that violent loss at the hands of Malykhin, Reinier de Ridder has also revealed that he has shored up his mental preparation for his rerun against him in an effort to even their head-to-head record.

Furthermore, he wants to show that he is not just a one-trick pony who takes down his opponent and chokes them by displaying the power of his striking game, much like he did against Gilberto Galvao when he scored a second-round TKO finish in June 2019 at ONE: Legendary Quest.

ONE 166: Qatar is available live and for free to all Prime Video subscribers in North America on March 1.