“Full of focus and in a murderous mindstate” - Reinier de Ridder shares how he calms his mind after fights

When Reinier de Ridder enters the circle, he walks in with the intent to cause physical harm. Through seven MMA bouts under the ONE Championship banner, he has done exactly that, defeating all seven opponents in dominant fashion. Along the way, ‘The Dutch Knight’ has scored five wins via stoppage and won two world championships.

Bearer of both the ONE middleweight and light heavyweight world championships, Reinier de Ridder defended the former in his most recent appearance at ONE 150 in July. Facing the former world champion Vitaly Bigdash, ‘The Dutch Knight’ scored yet another spectacular submission finish in the opening round.

Taking to Instagram, Reinier De Ridder gave fans some insight into his mindset before and after a fight:

“It took me a little while to calm down the last time around, because I was so deeply immersed in the zone, so full of focus and in a murderous mindstate.

“Two books I read have really pushed me to the next level recently. If you want to do something extraordinary in life or if you want to get to know my mindset better. You need to read @timgrover his books. It has done a lot for me to read that there is more people like me and it has really made me realize it is ok to think the way I do.

“Long story short: Thank you Tim.”

---

Could Reinier de Ridder become the first-ever three-division world champion?

Holder of the ONE middleweight and light heavyweight world titles, Reinier de Ridder may be looking to etch his name in the history books once again. The Dutchman has expressed interest in gunning for the ONE heavyweight world championship as well. Of course, there is still some business to be tended to as heavyweight titleholder Arjan Bhullar is slated to face interim world champion Anatoly Malykhin at some point.

The two were previously scheduled to face off at ONE 161, but an injury forced Bhullar to withdraw. He has not fought since April 2021. With Bhullar unavailable, ‘The Dutch Knight’ is more than willing to face Malykhin for his interim crown until Bhullar is ready to step back into the circle. However, ‘Sladkiy’ says that challenging him at heavyweight would be a big mistake for the undefeated two-division champion.

“He [De Ridder] is a good fighter, of course, since he holds two belts and has zero [losses on his] record,” said Malykhin while speaking to ONE Championship. “He is worthy of respect. He has decent wrestling. He strikes very badly and he is a very slow, protracted fighter. Compared to me, I think I will drop him down in seven minutes, maximum."