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Reigning ONE middleweight and light heavyweight world champion ‘The Dutch Knight’ Reinier de Ridder has aspirations to do what no man in MMA has ever done in history, and that’s to hold three division world titles simultaneously.
He already has two belts, but he’s been plotting to take a third, in ONE Championship’s burgeoning heavyweight division.
However, the undefeated 32-year-old from Breda, Netherlands, has been unable to get ONE heavyweight world champion Arjan ‘Singh’ Bhullar in the Circle with him for various reasons.
Bhullar has been largely out of action since lifting the coveted golden strap in early 2021 off the shoulders of former king, Filipino-American Brandon Vera. Lengthy contract discussions with ONE and an unexpected injury have prevented the Canadian-Indian sensation from returning to action.
For one, De Ridder has grown tired of the cat and mouse game, and says he’s done pursuing Bhullar for the meantime. In a recent interview with South China Morning Post, ‘The Dutch Knight’ reiterated that he’s still interested in the Bhullar fight, but won’t go out of his way to make it happen:
“Yeah, but who knows what happens to Bhullar? I’m done chasing that. He’s not available, he doesn’t want to fight. He’s not relevant at the moment.”
If and when Reinier de Ridder can get Arjan Bhullar in the Circle, it will definitely be one of the biggest fights in the promotion’s heavyweight division.
Watch the interview below:
Reinier de Ridder’s trophy case is filling up with ONE world title belts
Luckily for Reinier de Ridder, it seems he may not even need Bhullar to earn the heavyweight strap, not when he has ONE interim heavyweight world champion Anatoly Malykhin as a willing dance partner.
De Ridder and Malykhin are set to meet in the main event of ONE on Prime Video 5, which takes place at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines and broadcasts on December 2, live and for free on Prime Video with an Amazon subscription.
‘Sladkiy’ will be going down to light heavyweight to try for De Ridder’s 225-pound belt. Assuming De Ridder can foil Malykhin’s plans of becoming a two-division world titleholder, ‘The Dutch Knight’ could next earn a shot at interim gold, if he doesn’t land the Bhullar fight himself.
In the same interview with South China Morning Post, Reinier de Ridder talked about going after all the belts, and though he said he wouldn’t mind another addition to his trophy case, the 32-year-old admits that space is becoming quite full:
“I’m all right with that. After this, I’ll be the welterweight champ, the middleweight champ, the light heavyweight champ, the heavyweight champ. I’m good, man. It’s the same. It’s the same guy, it’s the same fight. I have enough belts already, let’s be honest. So, it’s all ok.”
