“I never saw any action from this guy” - Reinier de Ridder on his disdain for inactive Arjan Bhullar

Reinier de Ridder, the ONE middleweight and light heavyweight world champion, dismissed any plans to touch gloves with the sidelined Arjan Bhullar anytime soon.

‘The Dutch Knight’ has been trying to get a fight with the ONE heavyweight world titleholder for a long time, but every time there’s talk about his return, Bhullar is either struggling with injuries or re-negotiating fights under the promotion.

According to De Ridder, the Canadian-Indian star is all talk but no action. Speaking to SCMP MMA on the subject, he said:

“He keeps talking but I never saw any action from this guy. He’s just irrelevant at the moment. It was fun in the beginning, it was fun to talk some smack about him. He’s not there, so who knows what he’s up to?”

Watch the full interview below:

Bhullar is yet to defend his belt after defeating former ONE heavyweight world champion Brandon Vera in May 2021. Since then, both ‘The Dutch Knight’ and ONE interim heavyweight world champion Anatoly Malykhin have been itching to get a crack at Bhullar.

Regrettably, circumstances out of their control have hindered that possibility. Fortunately for MMA enthusiasts, Reinier de Ridder and Anatoly Malykhin have joined in arms, so to speak, to give their fans a show they’ll never forget.

On Friday, December 2, De Ridder is scheduled to defend his light heavyweight strap against the Russian slugger, who is making his way down from heavyweight to try and strip De Ridder of one of his coveted belts.

Catch all the action at ONE on Prime Video 5, which will be broadcast live for Amazon Prime Video subscribers all across North America.

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Reinier de Ridder says Anatoly Malykhin has knockout power but is nothing special

Reinier de Ridder is going into his next world title defense with the same unwavering confidence he’s demonstrated in his last seven matches under the promotion.

Absolutely demolishing opponents in two different divisions, ‘The Dutch Knight’ is stoked to showcase his dominance once again against the new face of the heavyweight division, Anatoly Malykhin.

Having studied the Russian’s movements with a critical eye, Reinier De Ridder can’t negate the fact that Malykhin is a dangerous striker.

The 34-year-old challenger has pummeled through all of his competitors by way of knockout, however, De Ridder doesn’t believe his rival will be close enough to get that chance as he’ll be wary of his takedowns throughout the fight.

He told ONE Championship:

“Well, as I said, he is dangerous, so I really need to watch everything and be very sharp. But he’s not special. He has a hard right hand. He needs a little bit of space to leap in with a large, loopy right hand, which he catches people with pretty often.”