ONE CEO says Reinier de Ridder might not want Malykhin rematch

ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong believes Reinier de Ridder won’t be the same guy after taking a beating from Anatoly Malykhin at ONE on Prime Video 5.

In a major twist of events, ‘The Dutch Knight’ Reinier de Ridder, the scariest submission grappler in the promotion’s history, bowed down to the new undefeated ONE light heavyweight world champion Anatoly Malykhin in typical ‘Sladkiy’ fashion.

Nobody in attendance could’ve predicted that the Dutchman would be stretchered out of the stadium after absorbing vicious hammer fists to the face in the first round.

Malykhin celebrated his victory soon afterwards with a desire to add a third belt to his collection; which entails a potential rematch between Reinier de Ridder but for his middleweight strap.

Revisiting the subject again about a potential rematch, here is what Chatri Sityodtong had to say about it:

“I think this kind of beating changes a fighter, it really does. When RDR ever did that fight, I think they're going to be very hesitant about ever wanting to face Anatoly again. As I said, a lot of people predicted that RDR would take him down and submit him - a lot.”

Under the same breath, the CEO updated fans on de Ridder’s health saying that the medical staff immediately sent him to the hospital to get CT and MRI scans to make sure there was no permanent damage.

Watch the presser below:

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Reinier de Ridder updates fans on his health, still in good spirits despite loss

ONE middleweight world champion, Reinier de Ridder is still in good spirits despite his loss.

The following day, the 32 year-old slugger updated fans with a story he released on Instagram with an ice bag over his eye. Sportskeeda MMA covered the story with a caption that read:

"I'm ok sweet people. Took a chance and it didn't work out well this time. Life is still good. Happy to be going back to my wife and kids."

De Ridder hasn’t spoken out about a potential rematch with Malykhin yet, but it's a matchup fans would definitely want to revisit. For one, it will be interesting to see Malykhin in a lower weight class, weighing in at 205 pounds and how his body reacts to the physicality of the match.

It’s no secret that de Ridder flourishes at middleweight, having submitted former world champions Kiamrian Abbasov and Aung La N Sang within that category. So, it will be intriguing to see how well both fighters adjust to the changes, not only physically but mentally as well.