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Former two-division ONE MMA world champion Reinier de Ridder is bound for a rematch against the man who took one of his belts, reigning ONE light-heavyweight and heavyweight MMA king Anatoly Malykhin.
At ONE 166: Qatar, the two hulking warriors will lock horns with de Ridder's ONE middleweight MMA world title on the line.
Before their first encounter in late 2022, 'The Dutch Knight' was undefeated with two belts hoisted on both shoulders. After ONE on Prime Video 5, however, Anatoly Malykhin KO'd Reinier de Ridder for his 225-pound strap.
On March 1, inside the Lusail Sports Arena in Qatar, de Ridder will defend his 205-pound strap against 'Sladkiy', who aims to be the promotion's first-ever three-division MMA world champion.
Speaking to ONE Championship, 'The Dutch Knight' revealed his mindset after the first fight and what it means coming into the second dance with Malykhin:
"You win 16 in a row, and to be honest, not to sound arrogant because I’m not trying to be arrogant, it always went pretty easily in the fights.”
Old timers in pro fighting will always opine that you can't say you're a true world champion unless you've already lost a fight.
What separates world champions from mere contenders is having the resolve and mettle to come back from a loss. Reinier de Ridder will be a new fighter once he enters the main event of ONE 166.
Anatoly Malykhin says Reinier de Ridder "has nightmares" about him after first fight
Speaking to the South China Morning Post, de Ridder's March 1 opponent Anatoly Malykhin sent a message to him ahead of their rematch.
True to his confident persona, 'Sladkiy' had choice words to describe what he assumes to be going on inside the mind of 'The Dutch Knight' since their first fight:
"I wish him a really good sleep at night because I'm pretty sure he has nightmares about me. I'm pretty sure he sees me knocking him out every day, over and over again, so I wish him a really good rest, and I wish he could sleep better."
Watch the full interview here:
ONE 166: Qatar will air live on March 1 via global pay-per-view on watch.onefc.com.
