WATCH: Dutch star Reinier de Ridder’s ascent to two-division supremacy over Burmese legend Aung La N Sang

Former two-division ONE world champion will attempt to hang onto his last remaining belt when he runs back his December 2022 clash with Russian juggernaut Anatoly Malykhin on March 1.

After surrendering his light heavyweight title to ‘Sladkiy’ in their first meeting, ‘The Dutch Knight’ will put his ONE middleweight MMA crown on the line in their highly anticipated sequel at ONE 166 in Qatar. But first, ONE Championship is looking back at Reinier de Ridder’s ascent to two-division glory with impressive back-to-back victories over combat sports legend Aung La N Sang.

After submitting ‘The Burmese Python in the opening round of their ONE: Inside The Matrix clash to claim the middleweight world title. Six months later, the Dutchman stepped in on short notice and to Aung La’s light heavyweight title at ONE on TNT IV with a dominant decision victory.

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Losing to Anatoly Malykhin was a hard pill for Reinier de Ridder to swallow

Going into his first fight with Anatoly Malykhin — who reigns as both the light heavyweight and heavyweight world champion — at ONE on Prime Video 5, Reinier de Ridder said that he felt unbeatable. That is understandable, considering he entered the bout with a perfect 16-0 record. But it ultimately made losing the way he did that much harder to cope with.

“It took me a little while to get over [the loss to Anatoly Malykhin], especially with the way it happened,” de Ridder told Sherdog.com. “It’s not like I lost a close decision or whatever. I got knocked out brutally.”

Will ‘The Dutch Knight’ redeem himself on martial arts’ biggest global stage, or will Anatoly Malykhin make history and become ONE’s first-ever three-division champion?

Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America can catch all the action at ONE 166: Qatar live and for free on Friday, March 1.