“It was a very new experience” - Reinier de Ridder on losing for the first time against Anatoly Malykhin

Tasting defeat for the very first time was a big hurdle for Reinier de Ridder to overcome in his career.

The former two-division world champion had procured an incredible 16-fight win streak that saw him yet to truly be tested because of how dominant he had been against each opponent.

This all changed at ONE on Prime Video 5 where, by his admission, he underestimated the undefeated Russian powerhouse, Anatoly Malykhin.

Having claimed de Ridder’s light heavyweight title, Malykhin is now out to make history by taking his middleweight belt also and becoming MMA’s first three-weight world champion.

Reinier de Ridder spoke about the effects of his last encounter with Malykhin during an interview with InTheCage where he said that dealing with that setback was a tough moment for him:

“Yeah, definitely [losing was tough], it was a very new experience. I never lost before, plus in a devastating way, I got knocked out. Basically in the 16 fights before I hardly ever got hit, so yeah, it was pretty hard.”

Watch the full interview below:

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Reinier de Ridder will look to show that he is better than ever after suffering his first loss

Reinier de Ridder knows that he made mistakes the first time around against Anatoly Malykhin.

In the first defeat of his career, he believes he learned some vital lessons that he needed to experience to improve as a fighter.

Now that he is motivated to get redemption against the light heavyweight and heavyweight world champion, ‘The Dutch Knight’ has a point to prove.

Revenge or repeat is on the line in the main event on March 1 at the Lusail Sports Arena where history could be made by Malykhin if he is successful.

ONE 166: Qatar will air live and free on Prime Video for North American viewers with an active subscription.