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ONE middleweight MMA world champion and former two-division king Reinier de Ridder is set to defend his remaining belt in a rematch with the man who took his light-heavyweight throne, Anatoly Malykhin.
'The Dutch Knight' will lock horns with 'Sladkiy', who also holds both ONE heavyweight and light-heavyweight MMA world titles, in the main event of ONE 166: Qatar.
In their first fight in late 2022, 'Reinier de Ridder lost his undefeated record together with one of his belts. On March 1, inside the Lusail Sports Arena in Qatar, Anatoly Malykhin will look to finish the job by finishing De Ridder again. This time, for his 205-pound strap with the hopes of becoming the promotion's first-ever three-division MMA world champion.
Speaking to Sherdog.com. De Ridder explained how he got over the heartbreak and agony of experiencing his first loss:
“I’ve tried to let that thing go because it is what it is. I have to deal with what happened and grow from what I learned in the fight.”
Real champions don't dwell in the past. The true ones know how to learn from their mistakes and take those lessons moving forward. Reinier de Ridder has the perfect mindset leading up to his rematch with Malykhin.
Reinier de Ridder admits being undefeated may have gotten to his head
In a separate interview with ONE Championship, Reinier de Ridder further explained his mindset right after his KO loss to Malykhin in 2022. The often confident and, at times, brash world champion provided some candid words:
"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.”
Veteran fighters will always say that you're a true world champion unless you've lost a fight.
What separates great world champions from mere pretenders is having the resolve and humility to come back from a heartbreaking defeat. De Ridder will undoubtedly be a new fighter once he enters the Circle at ONE 166.
ONE 166: Qatar will air live on March 1 free of charge for existing Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.
