Two-division ONE world champion Reinier de Ridder walks into the Circle with a belt on his shoulder. (ONE Championship)
R
einier de Ridder may have proven his status as one of the most skilled mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters in the world, but his upcoming challenge is on a whole different level.
The ONE middleweight and light heavyweight MMA world champion is slated to face Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) legend Andre Galvao in a submission grappling match at ONE X: Part I this Saturday, March 26, roughly a month after he defended his middleweight title against Kiamrian Abbasov.
“The Dutch Knight” extended his challenge to Galvao in a submission grappling match right after dominating Abbasov at the main event of ONE: FULL CIRCLE.
“I’m excited to be able to have an opportunity like this to face a grappling legend. It’s very big for me. I got into the sport from grappling. It was the first part of MMA I started with. Andre was at the top at that time, and he kind of still is, so it’s a very cool opportunity to fight him. And it’s even cooler that I think I have an opportunity to choke him out. I think I can beat this guy.
“There are a lot of other great names around like Buchecha and Gordon Ryan. But this is the first guy I get a crack at, and it’d be a major achievement for me personally to finish him off.”
The undefeated MMA fighter is known for his elite grappling skill. In fact, 10 of his 15 victories in MMA came by way of submissions. However, it remains to be seen how he would fare against one of the most accomplished grapplers the world has ever seen.
Galvao is a five-time International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) world champion spanning from 2005 to 2017 even after he spent several years away from the competition.
In 2011, the 39-year-old Brazilian also won the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) submission championship – the most prestigious submission tournament in the world. After that, he was invited to compete in the Superfight in 2013 and went on to become the only person to win the Superfight four times.
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De Ridder, however, said he was unfazed by and expected to show a high-level competition at the Singapore Indoor Stadium this weekend.
“What you should expect [at ONE X] is a high-paced grappling match, top grappling skills showcased, and a very exciting match because I want to push the tempo. The higher the pace, the better it is for me. There’ll be some wrestling, some domination on the floor. And hopefully, I’ll end up with my hand in the air,” the 31-year-old Dutchman said.
“I’m focused on MMA, but if these little one-offs get presented to me, I won’t say no. Gordon [Ryan] is just great everywhere. His technique is very crisp. He’s a great fighter, very strong. He does very well in grappling, but why not [face him] in the future? For these one-offs, I’ll make some time and I’ll take a little step sideways to grappling,” he added.
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This article is published in collaboration with ONE Championship
