Reinier de Ridder was an unbeaten two-division ONE World Champion until Anatoly Malykhin came calling in late 2022, and he’s looking to rectify that mistake in his upcoming rematch with the hulking Russian. The Matchup has been anticipated but will it live up to its marks?

At ONE 166: Qatar on Friday, March 1, “The Dutch Knight” will put his ONE Middleweight MMA World Championship on the line against the man who now owns both the light heavyweight and heavyweight crowns in the world’s largest martial arts organization inside the Lusail Sports Arena.

Ahead of their first tussle at ONE on Prime Video 1, rumors were swirling about De Ridder’s hopes to make a push for a third belt with a move to heavyweight. But then-interim titleholder Malykhin got the chance at gold in the end, and he dropped down to light heavyweight to challenge the Dutchman’s reign. What played out that December evening still stands as one of the most spectacular first-round finishes in ONE history. “Sladkiy” decimated De Ridder, ending his brilliant run of form in what seemed like the blink of an eye.

Reinier de Ridder’s reflection on a shocking defeat

Speaking to ONE in a recent interview, the 33-year-old reflected on his performance, and he didn’t make any excuses for the loss he suffered. “I made a mistake. I wasn’t myself. I dropped the ball, and I’m looking to make good on this one,” De Ridder said. “The Dutch Knight” had enjoyed 16 straight victories before his meeting with Malykhin, and he seemed untouchable – so much so that he even tried his hand at submission grappling and battled his way to draw with BJJ great Andre Galvao at ONE X in March 2022.

His confidence was at an all-time high, which, in hindsight, may have caused the middleweight MMA king to take his eye off the ball in the leadup to his bout with “Sladkiy.” “In the preparation for the fight and maybe even the fights before, I kind of lost track of what makes me great. I got away from putting in the time as much, developing every little small area of my game,” De Ridder admitted.

He further added, “You win 16 in a row, and to be honest, not to sound arrogant because I’m not trying to be arrogant, it always went pretty easily in the fights.“It was always like that. There’s a guy in front of me, I walk towards him, I take him down, I choke him out, basically. In my head, it, kind of, got stuck that this is how fights go, and I could do this to anybody in the world – until I couldn’t.”

de Ridder’s comeback fight against Anatoly Malykhin

Their rematch will mark De Ridder’s first fight in MMA since his loss to Malykhin. He only appeared on the ONE Championship stage once last year, figuring in a tightly contested submission grappling match with Tye Ruotolo at ONE Fight Night 10 in May.

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The Combat Brothers representative is pleased that his comeback fight will give him a chance to correct the only mistake on his otherwise pristine record, and he’s determined to get back to what he does best – submitting opponents. “He has a very strong right hand. He’s very dangerous with it. But, to be honest, I was like, ‘I’ve seen this before, and I’m just going to take him down easily and choke him out,’” he said. “That’s not who I am normally, and it’s not the person I want to be.”

“I’m very happy that it’s Malykhin again. Very happy that it’s a chance to redeem myself, which is the most important thing. It’s about me getting back on this last fight. It’s about me redeeming myself. It’s about redemption.” said de Ridder at the end of his interview

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