“It’s a big chance” - Reinier de Ridder relishes opportunity to fight heavyweight king Anatoly Malykhin

Two-division king Reinier de Ridder is grateful for the opportunity to share the circle with ONE interim heavyweight kingpin Anatoly Malykhin at ONE on Prime Video 5.

It’s been a long time coming for De Ridder, knowing that eventually, he was going to defend or challenge Anatoly Malykhin for a world title.

With both MMA world champions experiencing massive cancelations in the past few months, Shamil Abdualev for De Ridder and Arjan Bhullar for Anatoly Malykhin, the stars have aligned for them to scrap it out for the ONE light heavyweight world title.

Speaking on the Morning Kombat with MMA analyst Brian Campbell, Reinier De Ridder was asked if he felt a lot of pressure in the organization to stay active as he has to defend two world titles.

‘The Dutch Knight' said:

“Yeah, it’s very cool. It’s a big chance. I’ve been successful. Last time, my fight at light heavyweight was on a week’s notice, so I really didn’t get a chance to get heavier but this time, I’ve had some more time. So that’s nice.”

Watch the full interview below:

Reinier de Ridder has mentioned multiple times in past interviews that he’s excited to touch gloves with Malykhin.

The Russian juggernaut has been especially lethal in terms of striking, holding a 100% finish rate since arriving at ONE Championship in March 2021. So, for someone who is just as proficient but on the ground, it’s a challenge De Ridder accepted with open arms.

Watch De Ridder vs. Malykhin headline the main event at ONE on Prime Video 5 on Friday, December 2 in Manila, Philippines, which will be broadcast live and for free to North American audiences with an Amazon Prime Video subscription.

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Reinier de Ridder says Arjan Bhullar matchup is “not relevant”

Reinier de Ridder expressed he’s over and done with a potential Arjan Bullar matchup in the near future. Bhullar has been out of competition for more than a year and it seems his return will be delayed even further due to an injury he suffered in training back in September.

Bhullar was scheduled to face Anatoly Malykhin to finally unify the belts on the ONE 161 card, but the plan was scrapped the moment Bhullar broke the news about his injury.

Frustrated by the Candian-Indian star’s not so imminent return, De Ridder made it clear that he’s no longer interested in “What ifs” when Bhullar’s involved. He told the South China Morning Post (SCMP):

“Yeah, but who knows what happens to Bhullar? I’m done chasing that. He’s not available, he doesn’t want to fight. He’s not relevant at the moment."