"I really wanted it to be an arm triangle" - Reinier de Ridder comments on his previous title defense

Dutch double champion Reinier de Ridder is coming off a major title defense. He holds the middleweight and light heavyweight title, and in his last bout he dominated the Welterweight Champion Kiamrian Abbasov.

In the fight, de Ridder locked Abbasov in an arm triangle at the end of the round so he was unable to complete it. Early in the next round, he locked in another arm triangle to finish the fight. ONE Championship shared a clip of the submission finish of the fight:

"If at first you don't succeed... Don't miss two-division king Reinier de Ridder defending his ONE Middleweight World Title against Vitaly Bigdash on 22 July at ONE 159."

The Dutch-born champion commented on the video:

"I really wanted it to be an arm triangle."

The undefeated champion has a very impressive record. He recently had a submission grappling match against all-time Brazilian Jiu Jitsu great Andre Galvao. In his career, he has defeated such notable fighters as Aung La N Sang, Leandro Ataides, and Rong Fan, among others.

Reinier de Ridder began his martial arts career at the age of five when he began training in Judo. This gave him a strong base to develop his MMA game later on. Today, he has won over 70 percent of his fights via submission.

His next bout will be a title defense at ONE 159, on July 22, against former champion Vitaly Bigdash.

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Reinier de Ridder vs Vitaly Bigdash at ONE 159

Vitaly Bigdash, the former middleweight champion, on July 22, is coming to take the world title he once lost. Bigdash is an impressive fighter who is currently on a win streak, including his most recent win over Aung La N Sang. Standing in his way is Dutch double champion De Ridder.

In an interview with ONE Championship, De Ridder said exactly how he felt about his upcoming title match. He said:

“[Bigdash] takes his time, picks his shots. There are a lot of single shots on the feet which is smart sometimes. His shots are pretty straight, pretty clean. But he’s predictable, and he gets tired very easily... He’s going to be tired by the end of the first. And he is going to be done by the end of the second.”

Reinier de Ridder has wanted to move up to heavyweight and has even called out the champion in that division, Arjan Bhullar. He is looking to make history as a triple champion. Though first, the Dutch-born champion must get past Vitaly Bigdash at ONE 159 on July 22.