“I’m going to find his neck” – Reinier de Ridder says he’ll adopt a more cautious approach to submit tormentor Anatoly Malykhin

ONE middleweight MMA world champion Reinier de Ridder is not the type to make the same mistake twice.

‘The Dutch Knight’ had to lick his wounds after absorbing the first loss of his professional career back in 2022, where he surrendered his light heavyweight MMA crown to Anatoly Malykhin.

It was an extremely painful setback for the erstwhile undefeated de Ridder since the Russian knocked him out unconscious in under a round.

While admittedly humbled by the unfortunate turn of events, the 33-year-old now sees it as a lesson that he needed to learn.

On March 1, Reinier de Ridder will get a shot at redemption in the promotion’s debut in the Middle East, in the main event of ONE 166: Qatar inside Lusail Sports Arena.

Malykhin, who already lords over the heavyweight and light heavyweight MMA ranks, has dropped down to middleweight in his quest to take ‘RDR’s remaining belt.

Still, despite the brutal result of their last encounter, de Ridder is confident that the tide of victory will sway his way this time around.

The Combat Brothers standout told ONE Championship:

“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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Reinier de Ridder says he should have adjusted his game plan in first match with Anatoly Malykhin

After submitting 11 of his first 16 opponents, Reinier de Ridder entered his world title defense against Anatoly Malykhin with extreme confidence.

‘The Dutch Knight’, however, was unable to take the fight to the ground due to ‘Sladkiy’s impeccable takedown defense.

The champion played right into Malykhin’s trap and paid the ultimate price – losing his belt and consciousness in the process at ONE on Prime Video 5 in 2022.

In the same interview, ‘RDR’ admitted his shortcomings, saying:

“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.”

ONE 166: Qatar will air live on March 1 via global pay-per-view on watch.onefc.com.