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ONE middleweight MMA world champion Reinier de Ridder admits he got served a piece of humble pie by Anatoly Malykhin the last time they faced each other.
‘The Dutch Knight’ learned the hard way that no one is untouchable in the unforgiving fight game when he fell to the Russian’s meteor-like right hand at ONE on Prime Video 5 in 2022.
Now, ‘RDR’ has the opportunity to avenge the lone blemish of his MMA career, when he runs it back with Anatoly Malykhin at ONE 166: Qatar this coming Friday.
But unlike last time where he made outlandish guarantees, de Ridder is opting to let his actions do most of the talking.
Reinier de Ridder said during the ONE 166 press conference:
“I’m planning to be a bit more humble this time. No predictions this time, I believe I have the skills to finish him. So we’ll have to wait this Friday.”
Watch the ONE 166 press conference, here:
Counting your chickens before they hatch is obviously detrimental, especially when going up against a proven knockout artist.
By the looks of it, Reinier de Ridder no longer wishes to engage in verbal warfare and has sights on settling the score with his fists at Lusail Sports Arena.
ONE 166: Qatar will air free of charge for existing Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada
Reinier de Ridder wants to reclaim light heavyweight MMA crown in a possible grudge match with Anatoly Malykhin
After a rather forgettable performance in their first encounter, Reiner de Ridder believes he can perform much better in the long-awaited rematch with the two-division champ.
A victory against ‘Sladkiy’ will be massive for the Dutchman, who wants to keep the remaining 26 pounds of gold in his possession.
If ‘RDR’ does the unthinkable and hands the Russian his first career loss, he made it clear that a third match should be in order. He told ONE:
“Yeah, I'm open to whatever. But I'm not looking past March 1. So ask me about the future on March 2, for sure,” de Ridder said in a ONE interview.
