"Give me a shot at heavyweight" - Reinier de Ridder hungry for a third belt in ONE

Dutch double champion Reinier de Ridder is not satisfied with just two world championships, and says that he wants a third. 'The Dutch Knight' holds championship titles at middleweight and light heavyweight and wants to add a heavyweight title.

In an interview with AsianMMA, de Ridder said he wanted to face ONE heavyweight champion Arjan Bhullar:

“[Arjan] Bhullar. I’ve been saying this for too long now but come on, give me a shot at heavyweight. Bhullar is an interesting matchup. I can’t say too much about my prediction right now, but I’m very confident in what I do, of course.”

Bhullar is expected to defend his heavyweight title later this year against interim champion Anatoly Malykhin.

Before Reinier de Ridder can jump to heavyweight, he first needs to defend his middleweight title against the Russian-born Vitaly Bigdash. Scheduled for July 22 at ONE 159 these two fighters face off for the ONE middleweight championship.

Bigdash is coming off the biggest win of his career having defeated former double champion Aung La Nsang. De Ridder said of his title challenger:

“(He) 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.”

After defending his middleweight title on July 22, he next wants the heavyweight strap.

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Reinier de Ridder discusses heavyweight move

Dutch-born champion Reinier de Ridder has been calling for a third title challenge for quite some time. After grappling to a draw against all-time Brazilian Jiu Jitsu great Andre Galvao, de Ridder said in his post-fight interview:

"Bhullar is the one, he's the champ, he's the real champ. Otherwise, [Anatoly] Malykhin is there as well. But, Bhullar is my main focus... Give me Bhullar. If they don't want to do it at heavyweight, if he doesn't want to do it at heavyweight, I'll put my belt on the line. Let's do it at light heavyweight"

De Ridder captured his first world title when he defeated Aung La Nsang in 2020 at middleweight. The two fighters faced off again with the light heavyweight title on the line in 2021 with de Ridder taking this victory as well. He even defeated welterweight champion Kiamrian Abbasov in a title defense.

'The Dutch Knight' Reinier de Ridder will look to defend his middleweight title in July, after which he wants three championship titles to his name.