“He’s very dangerous with it” – Reinier de Ridder admits he underestimated Anatoly Malykhin’s power in first meeting

ONE middleweight MMA world champion Reinier de Ridder admits that he misjudged the power of Anatoly Malykhin that led him to be knocked out in their first encounter. It is something he said he will be avoiding in their scheduled rematch next month.

‘The Dutch Knight’ first took on ‘Sladkiy’ in December 2022, when he lost the light heavyweight MMA world title after being KO’d in the opening round of their title clash.

De Ridder said he did not anticipate the kind of power that Malykhin packs and it cost him dearly. He now looks to use that hard lesson as they re-engage at ONE 166: Qatar on March 1, where he will stake the remaining ONE world title in his possession.

The 33-year-old Dutch fighter shared this in an interview with ONE Championship, highlighting how he intends to take control of the contest in the rematch.

Reinier de Ridder said:

“He has a very strong right hand. He’s very dangerous with it. But, to be honest, I was like, ‘I’ve seen this before, and I’m just going to take him down easily and choke him out.’”

At ONE 166: Qatar, de Ridder will defend the middleweight MMA world title for the third time. His first successful defense was in February 2022, when he defeated Kyrgyzstani-Russian challenger Kiamrian Abbasov by submission. The next was four months later, also by submission in the opening round over Russian Vitaly Bigdash.

Anatoly Malykhin, meanwhile, will try to make history by becoming a three-division ONE world champion, adding the middleweight gold to the light heavyweight and heavyweight MMA belts he already has.

ONE 166 is ONE Championship’s first-ever live on-ground event in Qatar, happening at the Lusail Sports Arena. It will air live on March 1 via global pay-per-view on watch.onefc.com.

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Reinier de Ridder says he was sloppy against Anatoly Malykhin the first time

Apart from underestimating the power of Anatoly Malykhin, Dutch fighter Reinier de Ridder said he also did not help his cause by coming out sloppy with his attack in their first encounter.

The Breda, Netherlands, native never got his game fully going in his showdown with ‘Sladkiy’, as he fell prey to the powerful blows that Malykhin threw. He tried to go for his vaunted takedowns but was unable to complete them until he was knocked out late in the opening round.

In an interview with the South China Morning Post last year, Reinier e Ridder looked back at his first showdown with Malykhin and gave his dhonest take on his performance, saying:

“The takedowns were f**king sloppy too, man. It was sh*t. That wasn’t me.”

Watch the full interview below:

He now seeks to redeem himself from the defeat when he clashes once again with Malykhin at ONE Championship’s debut outing in Qatar next month.