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Revenge is on Reinier de Ridder’s mind as he returns to the global stage, set for ONE 166: Qatar on March 1.
The middleweight MMA king dropped his light heavyweight world title to Anatoly Malykhin in his last MMA fight under the ONE Championship spotlight, but now, almost a year in the making, ‘The Dutch Knight’ faces off against the Russian once more with his strap on the line.
To prepare for his comeback fight inside the Lusail Sports Arena, the Breda native has done everything he possibly can to reap a positive result.
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The 33-year-old Combat Brothers star simply does not want to suffer another loss to Malykhin.
Above all, he hopes to reverse the roles with ‘Sladkiy’ this time and hand the unbeaten star a first career defeat.
In an interview with InTheCage, Reinier de Ridder explained:
“I’ve wanted a rematch with this guy because it's the only thing that counts. Come on, I beat everybody, whoever they ever put in front of me. And now, this one guy beat me, so I need this back. This is my chance for revenge, I feel.”
Watch the full interview here:
Overcoming Malykhin won’t be a walk in the park for Reinier de Ridder
Motivated as he may be, executing revenge against an athlete as dominant as Anatoly Malykhin is easier said than done, even for someone of the ONE middleweight MMA world champion’s caliber.
In their first fight, Reinier de Ridder was – quite frankly – dominated in all areas of the field. Whether he decided to attack, switch levels, or catch ‘Sladkiy’ off-guard, nothing seemed to work in his favor.
As much as Reinier de Ridder believes he has done everything he can to leave the global stage with a victory in this rematch, Malykhin just has too much at stake to let this one slip away.
The ONE light heavyweight and heavyweight world champion is on a mission to be MMA’s first three-division king. On top of that, the 36-year-old superstar hopes to keep his unbeaten streak in check in Qatar.
North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription can catch the entire ONE 166: Qatar card live and for free on March 1.
