Reinier de Ridder says performance vs Malykhin "was sh*t”

Former two-division world champion Reinier de Ridder didn’t mince words when he spoke about his huge upset loss against Anatoly Malykhin at ONE on Prime Video 5.

On Friday, December 2, reigning two-division world champion Anatoly Malykhin proved to the MMA world that Reinier de Ridder was in fact beatable. The Russian juggernaut captured De Ridder’s light heavyweight belt after knocking out the former dominant champion with vicious ground and pound in the first round.

De Ridder hadn't lost an MMA fight since he began his illustrious career in 2013. His fighting record was 9-0 when he staged his promotional debut back in January 2019. Seven fights later, the number went up to 16-0 by July 2022.

The jiu-jitsu wizard dominated high-quality opponents at middleweight and then at light heavyweight before meeting Anatoly Malykhin. Unbelievably, De Ridder’s takedown and grappling attempts proved ineffective right from the onset.

Before he had time to adjust, Malykhin overwhelmed him with powerstrikes without much effort, which was the deciding factor to De Ridder’s early demise. Although ‘The Dutch Knight’ was gracious and humble in defeat, he couldn’t help but speak the facts about his performance.

“The takedowns were f**king sloppy too, man,” he told SCMP MMA. “It was sh*t. That wasn’t me.”

Watch the full interview below:

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Reinier de Ridder confident he’ll control Tye Ruotolo in a submission grappling in Colorado

Well-rested and recovered, Reinier de Ridder is looking forward to his second submission grappling match under the promotion.

Prior to accepting a grappling showdown with teenage BJJ star Tye Ruotolo, ‘The Dutch Knight’ walked away with a draw against Ruotolo’s mentor Andre Galvao in February 2022. Knowing what he’s up against, de Ridder is confident his skills will speak for themselves come May 5.

In the same interview, the 32-year-old veteran said:

“To be honest, I’m pretty confident right now. I’ve been training with some ADCC champs there in Texas, Gordon and John have really helped me out technique-wise.”

Watch De Ridder vs. Ruotolo on Friday, May 5, at ONE Fight Night 10 on Prime Video in Colorado. American fans can watch the explosive event live and for free with an Amazon Prime subscription.