Reinier de Ridder chooses to put KO loss to Anatoly Malykhin in a positive light

At ONE on Prime Video 5, former double world champion Reinier de Ridder suffered the first defeat of his professional career. Facing ONE interim heavyweight world champion Anatoly Malykhin, de Ridder lost his light heavyweight belt by way of a devastating first-round knockout.

Remaining the holder of the ONE middleweight world championship, the loss wasn’t a fall from grace for ‘The Dutch Knight’. However, it was a huge moment in his career.

With some time passing since the result, Reinier de Ridder has been reflecting on the loss and what he has taken away from it. In an interview with the South China Morning Post, the Dutchman spoke about turning the loss into a positive lesson by embracing it:

“It’s ok. I talk to everybody about this. It’s good to be reminded of it, although I don’t need any reminding because I think about it a lot, of course. But I want to put it in a positive spotlight. I want to make this something positive instead of hanging around and whining about the negative stuff.”

Watch the full interview below:

Before he returns to MMA, de Ridder will be competing in a submission grappling contest against Tye Ruotolo at ONE Fight Night 10 on Prime Video on May 5. The match will be de Ridder’s second foray into submission grappling under the ONE banner.

The entire ONE Fight Night 10 card will be available live and for free to all Prime Video subscribers in North America.

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Reinier de Ridder all praise for Danaher Death Squad after training with them

Ahead of his second foray into ONE Championship’s submission grappling rule set, Reinier de Ridder has been training in Austin, Texas, with the legendary Danaher Death Squad.

Led by mastermind coach John Danaher, the gym has been absolutely dominant in no-gi grappling over the last decade. The team has produced competitors like Gordon Ryan, Craig Jones, Nicky Ryan, Nicky Rodriguez and Garry Tonon.

In preparation for his contest with Tye Ruotolo, another one of the world’s best no-gi grapplers, Reinier de Ridder has been mixing it up with the regulars on Danaher’s mats.

In the same interview, the current ONE middleweight world champion spoke about his training out in the United States:

“Definitely, they’re on the top of the heap right now,” de Ridder said. “There’s a thing. Grappling for MMA is just different from grappling for grappling.”

ONE Fight Night 10 will be the promotion’s first event hosted in the United States. Live from the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado, the card features some of the promotion’s biggest names including ‘The Dutch Knight’ and Tye Ruotolo.

De Ridder has previously competed in submission grappling under the ONE banner, facing off with André Galvao at ONE X and going to a draw with the Brazilian.