Reinier de Ridder "not afraid to take some risks" to get to an advantageous position

Two-division ONE world champion Reinier de Ridder is not afraid to take a risk if it means a potentially big reward inside the circle. He did exactly that in his latest middleweight world title defense against former titleholder Vitaly Bigdash at ONE 159.

Discussing his July bout with Bigdash on the Morning Kombat podcast, ’The Dutch Knight' said:

“The moment I got [Vitaly Bigdash] down, he was trying with the guillotine, but the moment I popped out, I was dangerous right away. Hit him with some good shots. Got to side control. In MMA, there’s usually not a lot of time to finish, so at that point, I had like two-and-a-half minutes left.”

‘The Dutch Knight’ continued, saying:

“My corner was yelling. So I had to take some risks, and I’m not afraid to take some risks. I ended up on bottom like I did this time. It was cool to get him with the inverted triangle, finally.”

The victory moved Reinier de Ridder to 7-0 inside the circle at 16-0 overall. He’ll attempt to keep that undefeated streak along with his two world titles together at ONE on Prime Video 5.

‘The Dutch Knight’ will defend his light heavyweight crown against current ONE interim heavyweight world champion Anatoly Malykhin in the evening’s main event on December 2.

Watch the full interview below:

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Reinier de Ridder excited to mix it up with another dangerous finsher at ONE on Prime Video 5

With seven victories inside the circle, Reinier de Ridder holds an impressive 71% finish rate backed by four submissions and a single knockout. The ground is where ‘The Dutch Knight’ thrives. On December 2, he’ll face his toughest challenge yet against an opponent with a 100% finish rate inside the circle. All by way of knockout.

Anatoly Malykhin has practically destroyed every man that has stepped in front of him. With a combined professional MMA record of 27-0, the two warriors will be battling for more than ONE gold at ONE on Prime Video 5. It’s a classic battle of striker vs. grappler with two of the most prolific finishers in ONE Championship.

This is a matchup that intrigues Reinier de Ridder. Continuing his conversation with Morning Kombat, ‘The Dutch Knight’ said:

"[Malykhin] is an interesting matchup. He’s dangerous. He’s been knocking people out left and right. I’ve been strangling people unconscious left and right."