“It’s about redemption” – Reinier de Ridder does not want to hear excuses if he beats Anatoly Malykhin at middleweight

ONE middleweight MMA world champion Reinier de Ridder is out for redemption when he takes on once again Anatoly Malykhin in a title fight next week, and he does not want any excuses from the opposing camp if he is successful in doing so.

‘The Dutch Knight’ will defend his world title against ‘Sladkiy’ at ONE 166: Qatar on March 1. It is a rematch of their first encounter in December 2022, where Malykhin knocked out de Ridder in the opening round to seize the ONE light heavyweight world title.

The defeat serves as a motor for the 33-year-old Dutchman heading into the landmark event in Qatar as he tries to retain the remaining world title in his possession.

In an interview with ONE Championship, de Ridder shared his mindset for ONE 166 and how he doesn't want to hear any excuses from Malykhin, given the weight class this bout will take place at.

He said:

“I don't want you guys to make it a thing, either. So when I finish this guy, when I show myself, show my true skills, show my true potential in this fight, I don't want you guys to go, ‘Oh, he was depleted. He had to make the weight, he's not at 100%.’ This is about me getting back on this last fight. This is about me redeeming myself. It’s about redemption.”

Apart from defending the middleweight belt, ONE 166 also marks Reinier de Ridder’s return to MMA after making a detour to submission grappling in his last fight in May in the United States.

For his part, Anatoly Malykhin seeks to become a three-division world champion by adding the middleweight MMA gold to the light heavyweight and heavyweight belts already in his possession.

ONE 166: Qatar will take place at the Lusail Sports Arena and air live on March 1 free of charge for existing Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.

Reinier de Ridder admits he was off in his first encounter with Anatoly Malykhin

Reinier de Ridder admits he was off in his first encounter with Anatoly Malykhin and that the fact that he lost was no longer surprising looking back at the fight.

The Combat Brothers affiliate was knocked out by the Russian juggernaut in the first round of their title clash in December 2022 to surrender the ONE light heavyweight world title.

In a documentary produced by Threepeat Media, ‘The Dutch Knight’ spoke about how things went down in his first showdown with Malykhin and how disappointing it was for a proud fighter like him.

Reinier de Ridder said:

“I thought I was just gonna go in and do the thing I always do. I was in the zone pretty well. There was nothing really different than normal. I walked into a right hand pretty early, and just everything was off from there.”

De Ridder-Malykhin 2 will be the headlining match at ONE 166: Qatar, which is the promotion’s first-ever live on-ground event in the Middle Eastern country.