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ONE middleweight and light heavyweight world champion Reinier de Ridder is an absolute superstar. ‘The Dutch Knight’ has successfully ruled over two divisions and has remained undefeated in 16 professional matches.
The Breda, Netherlands native will look to keep that immaculate record intact at ONE on Prime Video 5: De Ridder vs Malykhin against a challenger seeking two-division supremacy as well.
ONE interim heavyweight world champion Anatoly Malykhin will look to usurp De Ridder from his light heavyweight throne.
The pair of undefeated fighters will headline ONE’s fifth foray into US Primetime on December 2, which will emanate from the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines.
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Before reaching the top of the heap in two weight classes, de Ridder had to work his way up the ladder and pay his dues.
Let’s have a look at Reinier de Ridder’s five best performances inside the Circle.
#5. Choking out Fan Rong in ONE debut
Renier de Ridder carried a lot of hype behind him when he joined the largest martial arts organization in the world in 2019. The Combat Brothers standout was also pursued by the UFC but ultimately chose to sign with ONE.
He entered the promotion with a pristine 9-0 record and a 100 percent finishing rate. The Dutch fighter was tested right away against fellow newcomer Fan Rong at ONE: Hero’s Ascent.
De Ridder initially traded on the feet against the hard-hitting Chinese fighter before bringing the fight to his wheelhouse via a beautiful single-leg takedown. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu blackbelt immediately went to work, passing Fan’s half-guard and transitioning to side control.
He isolated an arm for a far-side kimura, but the Chinese escaped by sprawling out of it. However, he made the crucial mistake of leaving his neck wide open. De Ridder didn’t need a second invitation as he locked in a tight D’Arce choke. Fan tried to resist but eventually lost consciousness.
Relieve how Renier de Ridder put the middleweight division on notice in his debut match:
#4. Defending the middleweight world title vs Kiamrian Abbasov
Malykhin is not the first world champion seeking to pry away one of De Ridder’s golden belts. The last challenger to do so got utterly destroyed in three rounds. Former welterweight king Kiamrian Abbasov moved up a weight class in a bid to hand ‘The Dutch Knight’ his first career loss at ONE: Full Circle.
However, ‘Brazen’ bit more than he could chew and got outclassed by the bigger and much better opponent. The Kyrgyzstani-Russian, who’s used to imposing his strong wrestling base against his foes, spent the majority of the fight on his back.
Renier de Ridder took him down at will and controlled the position, threatening Abbasov with ground and pound and multiple submission attempts.
A bloodied Abbasov did his best to survive the Dutchman’s attacks but eventually waved the white flag in round 3 after De Ridder locked in a suffocating arm-triangle choke to complete his dominating performance.
Check out how De Ridder annihilated Abbasov here:
#3. Crushing Gilberto Galvao with knees
De Ridder has 11 career wins by submission, but that’s not the only way he finishes fights. In just his second match in the promotion, 'RDR' took on the dangerous Gilberto Galvao at ONE: Legendary Quest.
The 32-year-old used his height advantage to light up the Brazilian on the feet. Once the fight hit the mats, Galvao learned he has no business grappling with the BJJ ace.
It was more of the same in the second round, as De Ridder easily passed guard and caught Galvao in a headlock.
From there, ‘RDR’ switched to a gable grip in a bid to lock in his signature Brabo choke. ‘The Dutch Knight’, however, saw an opening and blasted Galvao with knees to the head.
With nowhere to go, the Brazilian absorbed those brutal shots to his skull and was flattened out, forcing the referee to stop the beating.
Here’s RDR’s brutal finish of Galvao:
#2. Come from behind victory over Vitaly Bigdash
Renier de Ridder has been on the giving end of a lot of one-sided beatdowns and has looked untouchable so far. Then again, the Dutchman proved he can also weather adversity during his middleweight world title defense against Vitaly Bigdash at ONE 159.
The former 205-pound world champion found success early by drilling ‘RDR’ with leg kicks. Once the ‘Dutch Knight’ got close for a possible takedown, Bigdash countered with a guillotine choke and immediately pulled guard.
The challenger’s attempt appeared extremely tight, and De Ridder’s face was already turning red from the pressure. However, RDR kept his chin tucked and used his hands to loosen Bigdash’s grip.
Once De Ridder popped his head away, he turned the tables with some vicious strikes to his grounded foe. After another brief scramble, the challenger found himself on top but de Ridder used his long legs to throw in an inverted triangle.
Like a boa constrictor trapping its prey, the double champ applied a frightening squeeze as Bigdash passed out before he could tap out.
Watch RDR’s insane BJJ skills below:
#1. Ending Aung La N Sang’s reign as ONE middleweight world champion
It wasn’t that long ago when Aung La N Sang was considered the most feared man in the promotion. ‘The Burmese Python’ brought destruction wherever he went and also conquered two divisions.
RDR, however, entered his first match against Aung at ONE: Inside the Matrix with no fear whatsoever. It didn’t take long for De Ridder to take the fight to the ground and do what he does best.
Aung initially sprawled to stop De Ridder’s shoot attempt. The Combat Brothers representative, who is also a judo black belt, clinched and delivered the perfect throw.
It was only a matter of time before the challenger took Aung’s back. He locked in a tight body triangle to keep the world champion in place and made him carry his weight.
De Ridder patiently waited for his opening and crushed Aung’s chin in a bid to lock in the rear naked choke. His forearm eventually slid under the champion’s neck, and the rest is history. Aung was on the verge of losing consciousness and had no choice but to tap.
De Ridder tasted gold for the first time and emerged as the new king of the middleweights. Just a few months later, RDR climbed up a weight class and took away Aung’s light heavyweight world title with another decisive victory.
Rewatch Renier de Ridder vs Aung La N Sang 1 here:
