ONE CEO all praise for Reinier de Ridder despite loss: “He is the best middleweight on the planet”

Dutch superstar Reinier de Ridder suffered his first defeat at ONE on Prime Video 5, falling to unbeaten Russian Anatoly Malykhin. However, ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong is still firm in his stance that he has the world's top middleweight on his roster.

'The Dutch Knight' relinquished his light heavyweight world title, but he still holds the middleweight crown. After the event, Sityodtong sat down for a post-fight press conference to share his thoughts on De Ridder. He told reporters:

"So you look division by division, I’m telling you, and I think if Reinier recovers 100 percent and is mentally still there in terms of his confidence, he is the best middleweight on the planet. He would strangle the hell out of Alex Pereira, he would strangle the hell out of Adesanya, first round."

The ONE CEO continued, saying:

"These guys don’t have grappling, they don’t have wrestling. So again, I think we win our fair share (in a potential ONE vs UFC cross promotion)."

Check out Chatri Sityodtong's full ONE on Prime Video 5 post-fight presser below:

---

Anatoly Malykhin wishes the best to Reinier de Ridder

Despite being heated opponents inside the circle, Malykhin respects De Ridder, and vice versa. After securing double-champ status, 'Spartak' took to Instagram to share his thoughts; writing:

"It was the craziest confrontation between the two best fighters of the league [ONE Championship] I was preparing day after day with great effort, it was a new challenge for me, since I had never fought at such a weight."

Anatoly Malykhin continued, penning:

"I want to tell you [Reinier de Ridder] you are a tough guy and a fighter. Thank you for your courage and strength of spirit. A speedy recovery ❤️🙏"

Reinier de Ridder is one of the most dominant fighters in ONE's illustrious history—owning a 7-1 record under the promotion's banner—with victories over the likes of Aung La N Sang (x2), Kiamrian Abbasov, and Vitaly Bigdash.

After experiencing his first professional defeat, it will be interesting to see how the middleweight champ responds in his next outing.

Make sure to check back with Sportskeeda for an announcement regarding Reinier de Ridder's next bout, as it will likely be a middleweight title defense.