“There’s a lot on the table” - Reinier de Ridder lays down high stakes in epic rematch with Anatoly Malykhin

Reigning ONE middleweight MMA world champion Reinier de Ridder believes there’s a lot more at stake than pride and golden belts when he steps inside the Circle.

‘The Dutch Knight’ will make his triumphant return on March 1 when ONE Championship makes its long-awaited debut inside the Lusail Sports Arena in Qatar for ONE 166. In the main event of the evening, de Ridder will be seeking redemption as he once again squares off with current two-division MMA world champion Anatoly Malykhin.

In a short documentary produced by Threepeat Media on Instagram, Reinier de Ridder spoke about the high stakes surrounding his highly anticipated rematch with the Russian juggernaut.

“I really did feel like I was unbeatable,” de Ridder said. "With fighting, you’re not even just risking your own health and your own pride or whatever. But also your wife is watching back home, your kids are watching one day. There’s a lot on the table.”

Before his first-round knockout loss to Anatoly Malykhin at ONE on Prime Video 5, the Dutchman was a perfect 16-0 in his mixed martial arts career.

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Will Anatoly Malykhin keep his perfect record intact against Reinier de Ridder?

Reinier de Ridder may have felt unbeatable going into their first meeting, but Anatoly Malykhin has been exactly that — dispatching his first 13 opponents and maintaining a 100% finish rate along the way.

After putting away ‘The Dutch Knight’ to claim the ONE light heavyweight MMA world championship, Malykhin traded in his interim heavyweight world title for undisputed gold against then-champion Arjan Bhullar at ONE Friday Fights 22 in June, finishing ‘Singh’ in the third round. Now holding strong as the king of two divisions, ‘Sladkiy’ has an opportunity to do what no man or woman has done before by becoming the first-ever simultaneous three-division ONE world champion.

Will Anatoly Malykhin etch his name into the history books, or will Reinier de Ridder redeem himself and even the series with his Russian rival?

ONE 166: Qatar is available live and free to all Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.