“I’m happy that they are making steps, and that they are growing” - Reinier de Ridder on ONE’s possible European expansion

Undefeated 'The Dutch Knight' Reinier de Ridder is happy that ONE Championship is expanding more into his backyard. The Dutch-born double world champion still lives in his home of The Netherlands and is hoping to see more of the promotion on his continent.

While speaking with SCMP MMA, Reinier de Ridder commented on ONE's European expansion and said:

"I’m happy that they got this [Amazon] deal done. I hear they are busy doing deals in Europe as well, for my home fans. It will be nice because they won’t have to do some difficult stuff just to watch Amazon, like VPN and stuff. I’m happy that they are making steps, and that they are growing."

See the full interview below:

In addition to broadcasting agreements in Europe, ONE Championship has also been signing tons of impressive European fighters. Croatia's Roberto Soldic, Albania's Francesko Xhaja, and Spain's Lara Fernandez are just a few examples of promising talents from the continent competing in the promotion.

ONE Championship already holds some incredible fighters from Europe. These include Sweden's Smilla Sundell, Italy's Joseph Lasiri, the UK's Jonathan Haggerty, and of course, the Dutch Reinier de Ridder.

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Reinier de Ridder's next fight

Two-division world champion Reinier de Ridder will have a major challenge in his next bout. He faces ONE interim heavyweight world champion Anatoly Malykhin, who is also unbeaten.

The two ONE world titleholders are booked for a showdown headlining ONE on Prime Video 5 on December 2. This historic fight can be enjoyed live and for free on Prime Video for all Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America.

De Ridder holds the ONE middleweight and light heavyweight world championships. He has wanted to face a heavyweight world titleholder for some time. While in an interview with Brian Campbell on Morning Kombat, 'The Dutch Knight' said:

“It’s about time. He’s the heavyweight champion. I’ve been asking for that fight for a long time. I’ve got it. It’s at light heavyweight and man, I’m just happy to be able to do it again.”

Catch the full interview below:

Even with a weight disadvantage, De Ridder is confident against the undefeated Russian. While speaking to ONE, he explained:

“[The weight disparity will] be noticeable. But it will feel like I’m the bigger guy because I’m the taller, lankier guy. I’ll be stronger in the clinch, so it doesn’t really factor into it. But of course, every guy is more open to certain moves, and he’ll be open to certain takedowns more than he is open to different ones. And I’ll adjust accordingly.”