WATCH: Reinier de Ridder defends his middleweight MMA gold in champion vs. champion war against Kiamrian Abbasov

ONE middleweight MMA world champion Reinier de Ridder is undoubtedly one of the most recognizable fighters in ONE Championship’s stable of athletes thanks to his towering 6'4” frame that he utilizes to perfection against his opponents.

With 10 bouts in the world’s largest martial arts promotion, de Ridder has no shortage of stellar performances. One matchup that had fans buzzing was his all-out domination of Kiamrian Abbasov in February 2022.

At the time, de Ridder was a two-sport ONE MMA world champion holding both the middleweight and light heavyweight gold, while Abbasov was coming off a TKO victory against James Nakashima to claim the ONE welterweight MMA world championship.

When the two were paired against one another, it was Abbasov who acted as the challenger since de Ridder’s ONE middleweight MMA world championship was on the line.

‘The Dutch Knight’ immediately took control of the action with his superior grappling skills to complement his massive height and reach advantage, severely limiting Abbasov’s opportunities to trade strikes with him.

De Ridder did not allow ‘Brazen’ to find any breathing room for the better part of three rounds, forcing him to eventually tap to an arm-triangle choke.

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De Ridder to defend middleweight gold against Russian rival

On March 1, de Ridder will be sharing the ONE Circle with Anatoly Malykhin once more at ONE 166: Qatar, happening inside the Lusail Sports Arena in Qatar in defense of the ONE middleweight MMA world championship.

De Ridder clearly remembers the beating that ‘Sladkiy’ put him through when they fought over his ONE light heavyweight MMA world championship in December 2022, and he will surely want to even the score come ONE 166.

Check your local listings or visit ONE Championship's official website on how to watch ONE 166 from your location.