Most fans know Reinier “The Dutch Knight” de Ridder as one of the best mixed martial artists in ONE Championship. But many aren’t aware that the two-division king, who puts his light heavyweight crown on the line against Anatoly Malykhin this Friday, December 2, is a good fortune teller too. Well, sort of.

Case in point: the two-division king has been spot-on in predicting how his last couple of outings in the Circle would go.

When he defended his middleweight crown against Kiamrian Abbasov this past February, De Ridder warned that he would leave the Kyrgyzstan fighter breathless on the canvas. He stayed true to his words and finished the then-welterweight king with an arm-triangle choke in round three.

Reinier De Ridder intended to dominate from the first round

Then at ONE 159 in July, “The Dutch Knight” predicted that he would finish Vitaly Bigdash by submission. True enough, he did so at the 3:29 mark of the opening frame, handing the Russian his first loss since his return from injury. In typical fashion, De Ridder has once again foreseen how he will successfully take out his upcoming opponent when they meet inside the Mall of Asia Arena, Manila, Philippines.

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“The first two minutes are very important in this fight because he’s going to come out strong. He’s going to try and press forward. And I’m going to come out strong. I’m going to be in the middle of the Circle,” the Breda native pointed out.

“He Doesn’t Bring Anything Really Special to the Table” – Reiner De Ridder Provides an Unbiased Review About the Coveted Striking Power of Anatoly Malykhin

“You’ll see me dominant from the first second. So, in those first few seconds, those are going to be very explosive and very, very, very important. And I think I can hit him with some good stuff because I’m rangier”.

Reinier De Ridder also predicted a first-round finish

“I think I can get in his face and hit him with some good jabs and with some good kicks. Clinch him, take him down. I see myself controlling him on the floor, hitting him with some elbows. Hitting him with some knees. And I see myself choking him out at the end of the first.”

Even if he doesn’t get the finish that he envisions, De Ridder’s assessment of Malykhin’s style is pretty accurate – to say the least.

The ONE Interim Heavyweight World Champion loves to shut out his rivals with chopping kicks and huge combinations. And he always has his power output at maximum in the earlier stages to set him up for his well-known highlight-reel finishes.

“He Has My Respect” – Anatoly Malykhin Explains Why He Appreciates Reinier De Ridder’s Trash Talk

Whether De Ridder can find a route around “Sladkiy’s” striking remains to be seen. But fans certainly have an interesting duel to look forward to when ONE on Prime Video 5 gets underway this Friday. 

Fans in the U.S. and Canada can watch ONE on Prime Video 5: De Ridder vs. Malykhin live for free with an Amazon Prime subscription on Friday, December 2.