Reinier de Ridder up for the "nice challenge" of rebounding from Anatoly Malykhin KO

Reinier de Ridder is ready to kick off his 2023 with a bang after suffering the first setback of his mixed martial arts career in December.

After earning 16-straight wins and capturing two ONE world championships in the process, ‘The Dutch Knight’ finally learned what it felt like to lose, suffering a brutal first-round knockout at the hands of ONE Championship’s 2022 MMA Fighter of the Year Anatoly Malykhin. Surrendering his ONE light heavyweight title in the process, Reinier de Ridder is ready to move forward and kickstart 2023 on the right foot.

‘The Dutch Knight’ will make his return to the circle at ONE Fight Night 10 on Prime Video, taking on Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) sensation Tye Ruotolo in a submission grappling showcase. In an interview with The MMA Superfan, de Ridder discussed his mindset going into the highly anticipated matchup:

“It’s a nice challenge, to be honest. It’s a nice thing to come back from... It’s a nice thing to set some stuff straight this year. That’s what I’m gunning for.”

Tye Ruotolo will go into the contest undefeated inside the circle thus far. Debuting in May 2022, Ruotolo immediately made waves when he scored an 82-second submission against ‘The Lion Killer’ Garry Tonon. Ruotolo followed that with an equally impressive submission victory against former ONE featherweight world champion Marat Gafurov.

---

Reinier de Ridder doesn’t expect size difference to play a big role against Tye Ruotolo

Reinier de Ridder vs. Tye Ruotolo will be contested at middleweight, the weight class that ‘The Dutch Knight’ is most commonly associated with. But for Ruotolo, it will be a step up as he typically competes at lightweight.

Despite the discrepancy, de Ridder doesn’t anticipate the weight difference to play much of a role once they step inside the circle.

"I think it will be a big part of it, but I don’t think the difference will be that big because he’s most likely gaining some weight. I have to be 93 [kilos] so I can’t gain too much. So I don’t think he’ll be that much smaller."

Reinier De Ridder enters the matchup with an impressive 71% finish rate inside the circle with four victories by way of submission in mixed martial arts contests. ‘The Dutch Knight’ has competed in a submission grappling match once before under the ONE Championship banner. At the promotion’s 10th-anniversary showcase ONE X, De Ridder squared off with Brazilian BJJ legend Andre Galvao. The two fought to a 12-minute draw.

Amazon Prime Video subscribers can catch ONE Fight Night 10 live and for free in U.S. primetime on May 5.