Relive Reinier de Ridder and Andre Galvao’s intense submission grappling match at ONE X

Reigning two-division world champion Reinier de Ridder returns to the circle on July 22 to defend his middleweight world title against the division’s former king, Vitaly Bigdash.

Putting in work at the gym, ‘The Dutch Knight’ has been readying for one of his toughest tasks yet when he faces the well-rounded Russian in ONE 159’s highly anticipated main event.

Looking ahead to this world title showdown, ONE Championship gave us the opportunity to look back at de Ridder’s epic middleweight submission grappling match in March.

At the promotion’s 10th-anniversary event, ONE X, ‘The Dutch Knight’ faced grappling wizard Andre Galvao in an incredibly-entertaining grappling showdown.

The promotion posted the contest on their YouTube channel, saying:

“Before two-division king Reinier de Ridder defends his middleweight crown against Russian juggernaut Vitaly Bigdash at ONE 159 on July 22, relieve "The Dutch Knight's" electrifying middleweight submission grappling showdown with BJJ great Andre Galvao in March 2022!”

Catch the full match below:

Making his promotional debut, Galvao was more than up to the task of facing one of the most fearsome grapplers in ONE Championship. As a seven-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion with 160 submission grappling wins to his credit, Galvao put on a spectacular showing as expected.

In the end, the two grappled to a time-limit draw and had nothing but respect for one another.

---

Fans show appreciation for Reinier de Ridder’s epic submission grappling match with Andre Galvao

Fans on YouTube were appreciative of the grappling skills on display and the mutual respect shown between Galvao and de Ridder when it was all said and done:

“That was AWESOME! Looks like both are World Champs! Love the big ole smiles they gave each other! So much respect shown,” one fan said in the YouTube comments.

Through 15 professional MMA bouts, ‘The Dutch Knight’ has yet to suffer a defeat. Following their grappling contest in March, Galvao believes he has the skills to hand Reinier de Ridder is first loss in mixed martial arts.

While speaking to ONE Championship, Galvao said:

“I think, of course, like in a stand-up game, [he probably] has a little bit more experience than me. But I will do my best to put his back on the floor. And I know that would be hard because he will try to just stand up the whole time, keeping me near the cage, and all that. But I think I will do really well because, from the grappling match that I had with him, I took him down so easily.”

There is no shortage of challengers lining up to face de Ridder. But first, the Breda, Netherlands native will have his hands full with Russian behemoth Vitaly Bigdash.