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Reinier de Ridder has emerged as one of the best grapplers in MMA since signing with ONE Championship in 2019. The double champion has finished four of his seven wins inside the circle with submissions.
On top of his two submission victories in his world title defenses this year, ‘The Dutch Knight’ also competed in a grappling match against Andre Galvao at ONE: X.
Whilst his striking is by no means a big flaw in his game, the Dutchman is one of the few elite specialists in MMA and presents a puzzle that no opponent has been able to work out.
In an appearance on the Morning Kombat podcast, de Ridder spoke about the differences in using his skills in a grappling match versus under the MMA ruleset:
“To be honest, it’s a lot easier sometimes to set some stuff up. I grappled [Andre] Galvao last year. In grappling, sometimes it’s hard to get to places, because they can really stall. And then in MMA, once I get on top, I can get some elbows involved, get some punches involved and then I can really force them to move. Then that elbow opens up some more stuff. Sometimes it’s easier to choke people in MMA than it is in grappling.”
Watch the full interview below:
The champion’s grappling skills will likely be his route to victory in his next world title defense. With his light heavyweight world championship on the line for the first time, Reinier de Ridder will face the interim heavyweight champion Anatoly Malykhin at ONE on Prime Video 5 on December 2. All the action will be broadcast live and for free to all Amazon Prime Video subscribers across North America.
“Give me one every month” - Reinier de Ridder wants to dominate opponents as often as possible
At ONE on Prime Video 5, double champion Reinier de Ridder will face yet another big challenge in his career. With his light heavyweight world championship on the line, the Dutchman will face the hard-hitting ONE interim heavyweight champion Anatoly Malykhin.
‘The Dutch Knight’ has already had a year to remember, competing for a fourth time in the upcoming event, which is incredibly rare for a fighter competing at an elite level. In 2022 alone, he has pulled off two submission wins in world title defenses and competed in a grappling match.
He started off his year by facing Kiamrian Abbasov in a champion vs. champion match-up at ONE: Full Circle. Just several weeks later, Reinier de Ridder returned to competition with a grappling match at ONE: X against one of the greatest grapplers of all time, Andre Galvao.
His second world title defense of the year came against another former titleholder, Vitaly Bigdash. After successfully defending the middleweight world championship twice, ONE on Prime Video 5 will see de Ridder put his light heavyweight belt on the line for the first time.
In perhaps his biggest test of the year, it’s another champion vs. champion match-up, this time against the dangerous knockout specialist Anatoly Malykhin. In an interview with SCMP MMA, Reinier De Ridder spoke about his high activity rate as a champion:
"Well, if they happened like they have happened thus far, then give me one every month then. I’m only joking, I would head back home and keep going. But like realistically, like four a year would be great. Every three months."
Watch the full interview below:
