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Reigning and undisputed ONE middleweight MMA world champion and former two-division king ‘The Dutch Knight’ Reinier de Ridder of The Netherlands admits he may have been much too overconfident in his first encounter with Russian powerhouse ‘Sladkiy’ Anatoly Malykhin.
De Ridder locked horns with Malykhin in December of 2022 but lost via first-round knockout, relinquishing his light heavyweight crown and sullying his previously perfect professional mixed martial arts record.
Speaking to Sherdog.com in a recent interview, de Ridder admitted to being too confident in himself heading into that fight.
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‘The Dutch Knight’ said:
“I got a little bit too arrogant and was too much inside my own head.”
Of course, now de Ridder has the chance to make things right in his rematch with Malykhin next week.
De Ridder and Malykhin will throw down once again, this time in the main event of ONE 166: Qatar, which broadcasts live from the Lusail Sports Arena in Lusail, Qatar on Friday, March 1. Up for grabs is ‘The Dutch Knight’s middleweight MMA gold.
Reinier de Ridder admitted difficulty dealing with defeat: “I got knocked out brutally”
To go out there and lose the perfect record, lose the belt, and get humiliated is one thing. But to get knocked out and separated from your senses is a whole nother level.
Reinier de Ridder says it took him quite a bit of soul searching in order to get past the defeat to Anatoly Malykhin mentally.
He told Sherdog.com:
“It took me a little while to get over [the loss to Anatoly Malykhin], especially with the way it happened. It’s not like I lost a close decision or whatever. I got knocked out brutally.”
ONE 166: Qatar broadcasts live on Friday, March 1, to existing Amazon Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada. Fans can catch all the action live and absolutely free. Stay tuned to Sportskeeda MMA for all the latest news and updates on ONE Championship.
