Reinier de Ridder still has Anatoly Malykhin KO in his mind, wants to ‘do better next time’

Former ONE light heavyweight world champion and reigning ONE middleweight world champion ‘The Dutch Knight’ Reinier de Ridder is getting ready to grapple against Brazilian jiu-jitsu prodigy Tye Ruotolo next month. However, he still hasn’t gotten the bitter taste of defeat out of his mouth.

De Ridder fell to now-two-division ONE world champion Anatoly ‘Sladkiy’ Malykhin via first-round knockout last December, marking the first and only blemish on the Dutchman’s previously pristine record and removing the light heavyweight strap from his grasp in the process.

Speaking to The MMA Superfan in a recent interview, De Ridder addressed the loss to Malykhin, insisting that he will do much better in a potential rematch:

“There’s some stuff that slipped out of my hands before the fight, some stuff that I didn’t do like I normally do. I think I can do a lot better than I did that night. I’m working hard to prove that the next time around.”

Catch the full interview below:

Reinier de Ridder will lock horns with Tye Ruotolo in a middleweight submission grappling match at ONE Fight Night 10: Johnson vs Moraes III on Prime Video. The event will be broadcast live from 1stBank Center in Colorado on Friday, May 5, and will stream live in the United States and Canada via Amazon Prime.

After he takes care of business against Ruotolo, De Ridder is looking at having a couple of mixed martial arts fights before the year ends, one of those being a rematch against Malykhin in an attempt to reclaim the ONE light heavyweight world title.