Dutch blended martial artist, Reinier de Ridder has gained two silver medals within the European Championships throughout his profession and in addition held two titles on the similar time in ONE Championship after capturing the ONE Middleweight MMA title in addition to the sunshine heavyweight belt. Now, the person they name “The Dutch Knight” is going through essentially the most tough part of his profession. After shedding his ONE Mild Heavyweight MMA World Championship to Anatoly Malykhin again in December, 2022, de Ridder will now defend his middleweight crown in opposition to the identical man that took his light-weight belt. M&F caught up with Reinier de Ridder as he prepares for this crucial match forward of ONE 166.

“I’m a middleweight, and after I fought at gentle heavyweight I used to be like at 97 kilos (214 kilos). I possibly placed on round 2 kilos of fats and that’s about it,” the 6’3” de Ridder says about straddling two weight lessons. “I’ve by no means actually been on the high of the load restrict for gentle heavyweight. So, middleweight is my weight class, my pure weight class, and (the load) is straightforward to make for me. I’m not the heaviest man within the middleweights so this can be a great spot for me.”

Reinier De Ridder Is Throwing Our bodies Round Within the Fitness center

After all, middleweight is the division that de Ridder hopes to keep up possession of when he faces his outdated nemesis, Malykhin, on March 1, however the final a number of months have additionally offered de Ridder with some uplifting moments whereas coaching at his Fight Brothers Fitness center within the Netherlands. “My power and conditioning, I do on the fitness center,” he says. “I’ve my physio observe there. The fitness center itself is sweet. Over the past couple of years, all the great guys from our space, like all the highest Belgian guys have flocked to our fitness center. All of the Dutch high guys have come to our fitness center, so I’ve a whole lot of our bodies to work with. I’ve the whole lot at my disposal, and I’ve put it to good use over the past 12 months.”

For Reinier de Ridder, his Fight Brothers fitness center additionally supplies a possibility to share his huge MMA data and expertise with newer athletes. “it’s very cool,” says the middleweight champ. “I actually take pleasure in educating the children. I don’t do it each week, however now and again I’ll step in and take over the lessons, which is actually enjoyable. You see them actually develop.” de Ridder himself has undergone his personal private progress after being knocked out in devastating style by Malykhin in late 2022. He’d racked up 16 wins in professional MMA earlier than shedding his gentle heavyweight belt.

De Ridder’s Fights His Weaknesses to Turn into The Finest Attainable Fighter

“I’ve had rather a lot to be taught, after all, from that struggle,” says de Ridder. “It didn’t go my method, it didn’t go my method in a serious method, however all of the small little issues that went improper, like essentially the most fundamental little issues like me; I used to be too gentle. He had a whole lot of weight on me, which is one thing I corrected. (Then,) from a whole lot of technical stuff; mentally I wasn’t in the appropriate state of mind at the moment. So, I’ve made an inventory of the whole lot that went improper. I wrote it down and I’ve been grinding at it ever since.”

So, how did de Ridder enhance his weight? “Lifted a sh** ton of weights!” he laughs. “And, eat some extra meals, so I gained a few kilos of mass. I obtained a bit of heavier, a bit of stronger, which is necessary for this match-up.” The fighter shares that he has been consuming six eggs for lunch and devouring a steak for dinner every single day with a purpose to bulk up forward crucial bout of his illustrious profession. For the primary time ever, ONE Championship is heading to Qatar with ONE 166, broadcasts dwell from Lusail Sports activities Enviornment on Friday, March 1. de Ridder tells M&F that he loves ONE Championship’s concentrate on sportsmanship, and says he appreciates the truth that there’s much less “trash speaking” earlier than fights. The must-see blockbuster occasion will probably be stacked with three World Title clashes in whole, that includes a mixture of MMA, Muay Thai, boxing, and submission grappling.

Reinier de Ridder will defend his ONE Middleweight MMA World Championship in opposition to Anatoly Malykhin this Friday at ONE 166: Qatar, dwell on Prime Video within the U.S./Canada and on Watch.ONEFC.com all over the world.