Reinier de Ridder raring to kickstart redemption arc against tormentor Anatoly Malykhin: “I’ve got a year to prepare for this”

Former two-division king and current reigning ONE middleweight MMA world champion ‘The Dutch Knight’ Reinier de Ridder of The Netherlands can’t wait to climb back into the ONE Championship ring to square off with Russian mauler ‘Sladkiy’ Anatoly Malykhin in a highly anticipated rematch.

In fact, the 33-year-old Combat Brothers representative says he has been preparing to fight Malykhin again for an entire year, stating that it’s the only fight he wants.

De Ridder will defend his middleweight MMA gold against Malykhin, the man who took his light heavyweight strap, in the main event at ONE 166: Qatar, ONE Championship’s historic return to the Middle East.

The event will be broadcast live from the Lusail Sports Arena in Lusail, Qatar, on Friday, March 1.

Speaking at the official ONE 166: Qatar press conference yesterday, which took place at the Mondrian Doha Ballroom, De Ridder says he is fully fixated on exacting revenge against Malykhin.

‘The Dutch Knight’ said:

“It’s about one thing. He beat me last time, he hurt me, I’ve got a year to prepare for this, I grinded every single day, and I’m ready to showcase my skills this time.”

Humbled Reinier de Ridder says he’s back down to earth ahead of Anatoly Malykhin rematch: “I’m not bulletproof”

When Reinier de Ridder first met Anatoly Malykhin in December of 2022, he thought he was invincible. But after the Russian concussor separated him from his senses to take his gold in one round, De Ridder says it was an immediate reality check.

He told the South China Morning Post in a recent interview:

“I've really gotten to a more balanced point [of mindset]. As you say, I always came out to Can’t Be Touched by Roy Jones Jr, it’s always been my walkout song, and it was truly how I felt going in there, it didn’t matter whoever was in front of me, to me, I knew I had to adjust to him, just going to take him down and choke him out regardless. But as we saw in that fight, I’m not bulletproof, I can be touched. So that really changed a lot.”

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.