Reinier De Ridder hasn’t seen MMA action since experiencing his first career loss in December 2022. But now, as he prepares to return to the all-encompassing sport, he’s determined to come back as an even better fighter than before. 

“The Dutch Knight” is scheduled to defend his ONE Middleweight MMA World Championship in a rematch with the man who served him his only defeat in the sport, Anatoly Malykhin, at ONE 166: Qatar on Friday, March 1, inside the Lusail Sports Arena – in what will be ONE’s debut live show in the Middle East. 

Reinier De Ridder has met ‘Sladkiy’ before

The pair first met when “Sladkiy” dropped down from heavyweight to challenge De Ridder’s reign in the light heavyweight MMA ranks at ONE on Prime Video 5. The Russian was successful in that endeavor, as he served the defending champion a devastating first-round knockout to snatch his divisional crown. 

The loss was significant for De Ridder. But this time, the 33-year-old star intends for things to go differently, and he discussed how he has been working on his game over the past year in a recent interview.

“The thing that’s most important to me, what’s really close to my heart, is the technical aspect, which I’ve been working on very hard,” he told ONE. “I’ve been doing a lot of my striking work at Hemmers. I’ve done this in the past, but not as consistently and not as much focused on it as I have right now.”

“It’s always very tough to go there,” said De Ridder. Hemmers Gym in the Netherlands hosts some of the most feared strikers on the planet, so De Ridder is in good company when it comes to sharpening his physical weaponry. But he’s also been focused on stealing his mind ahead of his rematch with two-division king Malykhin.

Bitter losses, better comebacks

Losing in the manner he did last time out could break any human, so the 33-year-old star has put an emphasis on developing his mental game during his time away. Knowing what he needs to do on March 1, De Ridder believes it’s only a matter of executing his game plan and asserting his strengths when they square off again. 

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“Another thing that’s really important to me is my mental game. I’ve really looked inward a lot over the last year. I’ve really tried to make some changes in the way I approach the fight, the way I view myself as a fighter,” he said. “I know where my strengths lie in this one. I know where I can do what I do best. It’s just a matter of time before I get those openings. As long as I stay safe, I’m going to find his neck eventually.”

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