“Got a feeling this time will be different” - Fans believe Reinier de Ridder could change the tide against Anatoly Malykhin in Qatar

Fans are split between Reinier de Ridder and Anatoly Malykhin ahead of their highly-anticipated rematch in the ONE 166: Qatar main event.

In Dec. 2022, de Ridder’s callout was granted when he was matched up against Malykhin in the ONE on Prime Video 5 main event. ‘The Dutch Knight’ couldn’t get the fight to the ground and suffered the consequences as he was dethroned of his ONE light heavyweight MMA world title due to a first-round knockout.

Slightly over a year later, the world-class fighters will meet again when Malykhin attempts to become a three-division world champion. It’ll be easier said than done, as ‘Sladkiy’ must cut the extra weight to challenge de Ridder for his middleweight throne.

ONE recently shared “The Tale of The Tape” on Instagram with the following caption:

“The rematch will be LEGENDARY 👑 Reinier de Ridder defends his middlweight MMA throne against two-division king Anatoly Malykhin on March 1 at ONE 166: Qatar! 🏆 Will "The Dutch Knight" get his revenge? 👀 @deriddermma @anmalykhin @mediacityqa @visitqatar”

Malykhin’s fans voiced their support in the Instagram comment section:

“Sleep time….Again!👊🏼🟠😴”

“3 BELTS time🔥🔥🔥”

“There is only one champion and its @anmalykhin !!! 🦁👑”

“We'll see soon Triple Champ😊💪💪💪🥇🥇🥇🏆🏆🏆”

Meanwhile, de Ridder’s fans fired back with their comments:

“Mad respect to RdR for stepping into the fire straight again, I’ve got a feeling this time will be different. Will be a great fight for sure!🔥”

“Hope RDR worked on his striking or just goes for the ground 😬”

Instagram comments

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Reinier de Ridder is thrilled to receive another opportunity to fight Anatoly Malykhin

Reinier de Ridder was seen as an unbeatable force under the ONE banner before fighting Anatoly Malykhin. Luckily for him, he has received the opportunity to silence the doubters and avenge his defeat. During an interview with ONE, de Ridder had this to say:

“I’m very happy that it’s Malykhin again. Very happy that it’s a chance to redeem myself, which is the most important thing. It’s about me getting back on this last fight. It’s about me redeeming myself. It’s about redemption.”

Following his win against Reinier de Ridder, Anatoly Malykhin defeated Arjan Bhullar for the undisputed heavyweight throne to become a two-division king.

Meanwhile, De Ridder hasn’t fought in MMA since being knocked out but stayed active by taking on Tye Ruotolo in a submission grappling match, with Ruotolo winning by unanimous decision.