Reinier de Ridder has won his biggest victory ever since signing with the UFC in free agency after stopping NCAA champion wrestler Bo Nickal with a great performance, but not everyone is celebrating his victory.
Shortly after De Ridder finished his fight, his previous employer posted a clip in one championship showing him that Anatoly Malykhin, the only person he had lost during his 12-year combat career, was finished. A post from Twitter, which was later removed by the promotion, reads “Anatoly Malykhin exhibited destructive power in his first battle with Reinier de Ridder.”
He didn’t see the post before it was deleted, but De Ridder wasn’t so surprised that it happened in the first place.
“I didn’t see it, and no one has told me yet, but that’s typical,” De Ridder told MMA Fighting. “They’re interesting people there. Let’s keep that.”
Despite being one champion as the two division champion, De Ridder’s run in the promotion came to an eerie end after complaining about inertness after fighting only once between 2023 and 2024.
After he became a free agent and signed with the UFC, De Ridder spoke to the exit from the organization by sending all the other fighters a message saying “If you’re thinking about signing in one championship, don’t.”
He obviously continues his career with De Ridder and currently boasts a perfect 3-0 record for the UFC. It’s safe to say De Ridder is happy with his decision.
“I’m very pleased with the position I’m in. More and more, I think you’ll get what you deserve,” De Ridder addressed one championship. “After all the great years I had before that, I might have needed an ending that got there. Maybe I needed some punches and a few losses in my head to set me straight up.
“I’m so happy where I’m right now. I feel good. We have a great team at Killcliffe. Let’s see what the future brings. Let’s see what we can do in this department.”
De Ridder actually suffered consecutive losses to Malykhin in two encounters where the Russians won both his middleweight and light heavyweight championships in consecutive battles.
These wins helped Malikin become the first three division champion after winning the heavyweight title previously, but he ultimately lost that belt in a close and controversial decision against OUMAR’s “Reug Reug Reug” Kane.
Using Malikin’s victory in the now-deleted tweet did not surprise De Ridder. In fact, De Ridder revealed that Malykhin actually sent a congratulatory message to him after recording a knockout victory over Nickal.
“He also sent a message to me,” De Ridar said of Malikin. “He’s a good guy. There’s nothing wrong with the guy.”