“I'd defend all of them” - Reinier de Ridder promises to be active if he wins third world title

Make no mistake, Reinier de Ridder doesn’t want to just be one of the best fighters in ONE Championship. He wants to be known as the king of the promotion when it’s all said and done. To do that, De Ridder believes he needs a third world title in a third weight class. Should he accomplish this unprecedented feat, the Dutchman promises he will actively defend all three straps.

Already the owner of the ONE middleweight and light heavyweight world titles, 'The Dutch Knight' says there’s only one belt left for him to claim, and that’s the ONE heavyweight world championship. The 31-year-old superstar from Breda, Netherlands says he’s looking to make history this year.

In a recent interview with the South China Morning Post, Reinier de Ridder said:

“Yeah, I think it will happen. I think it will happen. Because I'm running the competition in my own weight class right now. There's not a ton of heavyweights and it's a unique thing, it's a chance to write history. So I think I should get the chance. And I'm pretty confident it's going to happen.”

De Ridder has his eyes on either ONE heavyweight world champion Arjan ‘Singh’ Bhullar or ONE interim heavyweight world champion Anatoly Malykhin – whoever is willing to step up to the plate first. Furthermore, if he does claim the heavyweight gold, he plans on keeping all three belts by staying active:

“I'd defend all of them. I've said it before, I want to be active. It's been two pretty slow years. Despite winning world championships, I haven't been that active, not as active as I'd like to be. But in 2022, I want to be there every three months. Give me someone every season.”

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Reinier de Ridder to try submission grappling next?

Reinier de Ridder is seen as a jiu-jitsu fighter, despite being one of the most accomplished mixed martial artists on the planet right now. That being said, the undefeated star is very much looking forward to his next contest, which could come against grappling legend Andre Galvao at ONE X.

Reinier de Ridder has mentioned that his submission grappling bout against Galvao has being finalized. Although it hasn't yet been officially confirmed by ONE Championship, ‘The Dutch Knight’ is already preparing for the fight.

Should he beat Galvao, De Ridder could consider facing off with more grapplers in the future, on one condition – legends only please:

“Yeah, it's cool, but I would only consider it for the greats. I'm not grappling anybody else. You know, MMA is the focus. I'm an MMA fighter first. But these little detours, if they don't get in the way of another busy schedule, then I'm definitely down for it.”