“Forcing me to evolve” - Reinier de Ridder has all the respect to triple-champ Anatoly Malykhin after Qatar showdown

Reinier de Ridder hopes he and Anatoly Malykhin can meet once more at the tail end of their careers.

15 months ago, the two finishers stepped inside the Circle for the ONE light heavyweight MMA title at ONE on Prime Video 5. Malykhin scored a brutal first-round knockout, adding another 26 pounds of gold to a collection that already included the promotion’s interim heavyweight MMA crown.

Malykhin ultimately became a two-division undisputed world champion when he beat Arjan Bhullar for the ONE heavyweight MMA world title at ONE Friday Fights 22.

At ONE 166: Qatar, Malykhin came back looking for Reinier de Ridder’s last remaining belt, the ONE middleweight MMA world championship, in a main-event showdown at Lusail Sports Arena. ‘The Dutch Knight’ fared much better in the highly anticipated rematch, but as the fight went on, it became apparent that the Russian juggernaut was on the verge of making ONE Championship history.

‘Sladkiy’ did exactly that, KO’ing de Ridder in the third round to win the ONE middleweight MMA world title and becoming the promotion’s first-ever three-division champion.

Following the finish, there was nothing but respect between the two warriors and 'RDR' suggested that the two could one day close out their careers in a third and final meeting. He took to Instagram and wrote:

“Thank you @anmalykhin for the karaoke and forcing me to evolve, Maybe one more at the close of our careers? 😁”

Reinier de Ridder shows improvement despite taking another loss

Despite coming up short against Anatoly Malykhin for the second straight time, Reinier de Ridder showed a significant improvement in his stand-up game. He is already looking forward to putting it all to the test against his next opponent. In a follow-up post, he wrote:

"I was able to showcase what I’ve been working on. Whoever is next will have his hands full. Thank you all for the support.”

Who would you like to see ‘The Dutch Knight’ face when he makes his return to the Circle later this year?

If you missed any of the action or want to relive an epic night in ONE Championship history, the ONE 166: Qatar replay can be watched on demand via Amazon Prime Video.