Reinier de Ridder says Arjan Bhullar’s striking skills won’t matter against Anatoly Malykhin

At ONE Fight Night 10, Reinier de Ridder will step back inside the Circle after suffering the first defeat of his career.

Looking to test himself in new ways, ‘The Dutch Knight’ will face off with one of the best submission grapplers on ONE Championship’s roster, Tye Ruotolo.

The reigning ONE middleweight world champion had been on an unstoppable run up to the main event of ONE on Prime Video 5 in December last year.

Meeting fellow undefeated titleholder and interim heavyweight champion Anatoly Malykhin, de Ridder put his light heavyweight world championship on the line but came up short.

The Russian continued his devastating run of finishes by stopping the Dutchman in the opening round with his superior size and power.

After claiming double champion status for himself and handing de Ridder his first loss, Malykhin is now set for the long-awaited heavyweight title unification bout with Arjan Bhullar.

Ahead of his return in a high-profile grappling match in Broomfield, Colorado, Reinier de Ridder has been giving his thoughts on that match-up, drawing from his experience facing off with Anatoly Malykhin.

In an interview with The MMA Superfan on YouTube, he predicted that the Russian will have a clear advantage whilst the fight stays on the feet:

“I think in this match-up, those don’t really matter that much, to be honest. Because he’s going to outstrike Bhullar anyway. Bhullar is not going to win the striking battle.”

Watch the full interview below:

Reinier De Ridder will face off against Tye Ruotolo on the stacked ONE Fight Night 10 card on May 5. The entire event will air live and for free via Prime Video.