“It’s about time” - Reinier de Ridder happy to finally get the fight he wanted

Undefeated two-division world champion Reinier de Ridder is happy to have a fight against a ONE heavyweight world champion, even if things didn’t pan out the way he had hoped.

At ONE on Prime Video 5, Reinier de Ridder will put his light heavyweight world championship on the line against ONE interim heavyweight titleholder Anatoly Malykhin.

Originally aiming for a shot at ONE’s current heavyweight titleholder, Arjan Bhullar, de Ridder is content to move on against another man who also grew tired of waiting for Bhullar to step back into the circle.

In an interview with Morning Kombat, ‘The Dutch Knight’ shared his excitement at finally getting a fight with a heavyweight world champion despite the bout being contested at light heavyweight:

“It’s about time. He’s the heavyweight champion. I’ve been asking for that fight for a long time. I’ve got it. It’s at light heavyweight and man, I’m just happy to be able to do it again.”

If Reinier de Ridder scores his 17th career victory at ONE on Prime Video 5, it will be just another step in establishing himself as a veritable champion killer.

Capturing the ONE middleweight and light heavyweight titles in back-to-back fights against ONE legend Aung La N Sang, ‘The Dutch Knight’ followed that up with wins over then-welterweight world champion Kiamrian Abbasov and former middleweight king Vitaly Bigdash.

Watch the full interview below:

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Reinier de Ridder goes back to where it all started at ONE on Prime Video 5

Reinier de Ridder’s ONE Championship debut practically feels like an eternity ago. First stepping into the circle at ONE: Hero’s Ascent in 2019, ‘The Dutch Knight’ scored a first-round submission over Fan Rong in front of a raucous crowd in Manila.

On December 2, de Ridder will return to Manila where his ONE career first began to take on the Russian juggernaut Anatoly Malykhin. Speaking to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), ‘The Dutch Knight’ discussed how his career in ONE has truly come full circle with the return to Manila in December:

"It’s a bit of a full circle thing because my first fight for ONE was in Manila, so it will be very cool to go back there."

The highly-anticipated champion vs. champion showdown will air live and for free on Amazon Prime Video with a subscription in North America. ONE Championship is looking to deliver another spectacular night of action, including multiple world title fights that you can learn more about right here.