“I want him at his best” – Reinier de Ridder eager to face ‘peak performance’ Anatoly Malykhin in Qatar

Reinier de Ridder wants to face the very best version of Anatoly Malykhin when the pair collide for the second time on the global stage at ONE 166: Qatar.

The Breda native fancies his chances to even the score and hand the unbeaten Russian a first career defeat when he puts his middleweight MMA world title on the line on the promotion's debut card in the country inside the Lusail Sports Arena on March 1.

During a pre-fight interview with the South China Morning Post, ‘The Dutch Knight’ was asked how tough it would be for Malykhin to bounce back from a defeat should he go down to the Dutchman in Qatar.

In response, Reinier de Ridder had this to say while stressing that he hopes the two-division ONE world champion brings his A-Game to the Middle East this week:

“I don't know what it's gonna do to him [if he loses], and I don't really care too much either. I want him at his best. At his prime. At his peak performance. And I think I can beat him regardless.”

Watch the full interview here:

Both men head into this rematch with a lot on the line.

For the Combat Brothers affiliate, he wants to return to winning ways after enduring back-to-back defeats under the ONE banner to Malykhin – where he lost his light heavyweight strap – and a submission grappling loss to Tye Ruotolo in May last year.

On the flip side, Malykhin wants to extend his pristine 13-0 run and 100 percent finishing rate. More importantly, the Golden Team star knows a victory will earn him a spot in the history books as MMA’s only three-division world champion.

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Reinier de Ridder not leaving any stone unturned for Malykhin rematch

Beating Malykhin will be easier said than done, which Reinier de Ridder knows too well after he was given a harsh reality check against the Russian mauler in the main event of ONE on Prime Video 5 in December 2022.

Apart from shoring up his mental game and all-around arsenal, ‘The Dutch Knight’ admits he has been focused on tweaking the smallest flaws of his game to ensure he leaves the Lusail Sports Arena with his hand raised.

In a separate interview with ONE Championship, Reinier de Ridder said:

“What I've been focused on is putting in the work to [make sure] I cover every little small detail that needs some fixing. This has allowed me to grow a lot I believe.”

ONE 166: Qatar will be available to North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription on March 1.