Reinier de Ridder: Reinier de Ridder says he would finish Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira on the same night

The undefeated two-division ONE world champion Reinier de Ridder has claimed that he would defeat both UFC middleweights Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira.

Reinier de Ridder currently holds ONE Championship world titles in both the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions. 'The Dutch Knight' is a grappling ace who has won nearly 70% of his bouts by way of submission. He even grappled to a draw against all-time heavyweight Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu great Andre Galvao.

Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira fought for the UFC middleweight world title on November 12. The two men previously met in kickboxing bouts, with Brazil's 'Poatan' Pereira winning both fights. At UFC 281, Pereira was successful again, winning this bout via TKO in round five.

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However, the undefeated Reinier de Ridder is not impressed with the skills of his UFC contemporaries on the ground. ‘The Dutch Knight’ sat down with Morning Kombat's Brian Campbell and said:

"Those guys, you saw the fight man. It’s like two blue belts grappling when they grappled, to be honest. I think I could beat both those guys on the same night. Give me co-main event [Israel] Adesanya, main event [Alex] Pereira, and I’d finish them both."

See below for the full interview:

Reinier de Ridder is looking for a hero's end

With two world titles in his possession, Reinier de Ridder is still looking for even more challenges. His upcoming fight will be his biggest yet as he takes on ONE interim heavyweight world champion Anatoly Malykhin. Both of these fighters hold world titles in ONE and are unbeaten in MMA.

De Ridder explained his attitude in the above interview:

“This MMA thing, it’s a weird thing because you’re always looking for the hardest challenge. You’re always looking for the next best guy. Sometimes I feel like an old-school warrior thing, you know. Like looking for a hero’s death. You’re looking for the best guy who might be able to beat you"

De Ridder and Malykhin are booked for their high-stakes showdown at ONE on Prime Video 5, an event which will air on US primetime on December 2. This fight card can be enjoyed live and for free on Prime Video for all Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America.

About the author

Timothy Wheaton is a combat sports writer who covers MMA, Kickboxing, and Muay Thai. He has been an avid follower of these sports since 2005. Tim Wheaton has been working alongside Sportskeeda MMA proudly with the ONE Championship and UFC teams.

With Sportskeeda MMA, Tim has contributed interviews, thousands of articles, plus videos on YouTube, Snapchat, and Instagram. He has also represented Sportskeeda MMA in person at live UFC events.

Tim also works with a host of other media sites such as Calf Kick Sports, MMA Sucka, Low Kick MMA, Vecht Sport Info, Fighters First, and Beyond Kickboxing. Tim is is the authority on kickboxing and MMA journalist who has covered K-1, PRIDE FC, UFC, GLORY Kickboxing, Bellator, ONE Championship, and plenty more.

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Edited by Aditya Singh