Reinier de Ridder says it’s "such a gift" to train in Texas with John Danaher

Ahead of his submission grappling match at ONE Fight Night 10 on Prime Video, Reinier de Ridder has been getting some work in with the sport’s elite.

On May 5, ‘The Dutch Knight’ will compete under ONE Championship’s submission grappling ruleset for the second time, taking on Tye Ruotolo as part of the promotion’s debut event in the United States.

In his first submission grappling contest under the ONE banner, de Ridder went to a draw with Ruotolo's mentor, André Galvão, at ONE X last year. He credits part of his success to having been able to spend time training with John Danaher and some of the best competitors in the world in Austin, Texas.

For his upcoming contest with Tye Ruotolo, Reinier de Ridder returned to the US to train with Danaher and his team again. In an interview with the South China Morning Post, de Ridder said:

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“I was just out there in Texas for two weeks.”

John Danahaer is regarded as one of the top jiu-jitsu coaches in the world, with his mats regularly featuring the likes of Garry Tonon and submission grappling king Gordon Ryan.

De Ridder reflected on his time spent with Danaher and his team, saying:

“Yeah, man. It’s so valuable, those guys, the wealth of knowledge that they have is amazing. They really invested their time in me, helping me out and helping me prepare specifically for this match-up [with Tye Ruotolo]. It’s such a gift, man. It’s wonderful to be there.”

Watch the full interview below:

Fans react to Tye Ruotolo vs. Reinier de Ridder submission grappling showdown

At ONE Fight Night 10 on Prime Video, former two-division world champion Reinier de Ridder will face submission grappling standout Tye Ruotolo.

On May 5, de Ridder will compete under ONE’s submission grappling rule set for the second time, putting his grappling to the test against one of the best competitors in the world.

‘The Dutch Knight’ is also known for his jiu-jitsu game, with his grappling credentials seeing him become a champion at middleweight and light heavyweight.

ONE Fight Night 10, the promotion’s first-ever event in the United States, has started to fill up with some of the promotion’s very best fighters and biggest names and this contest is no different.

On Instagram, ONE Championship announced the fight with this caption:

“Very excited to be featured on @onechampionship @primevideo debut in the 🇺🇸! This will be a submission grappling match against The Middle Weight World Champion RDR - May 5 🤝#ONEFightNight10”

Fans reacted to the announcement of Reinier de Ridder vs. Tye Ruotolo in the comments below the post:

“Yeah boys!! Bring some HB to Colorado!! Stoked! I’ll be there cheering you on🔥🔥”

“Let’s goooo! No worries when you train as hard as you do!🔥🙌”

“Let’s gooo this card is stacked!!!!”

“Might need to go to Colorado for this one 🔥🔥 Demetrius Johnson, tye ruotolo, and RDR on one card is crazy”

“Tye gonna slay that dude”

About the author

Kyle Dimond is a journalist who covers combat sports with a specific focus on ONE Championship at Sportskeeda. He loves the compelling drama of amateur wrestling, thinks it has everything, and considers people in the sport superheroes compared to most people. He has strong sports writing and journalism skills along with a good understanding of SEO.

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Edited by Harvey Leonard