ONE Championship: Reinier de Ridder to grapple Andre Galvao at ONE X after bloody beat down of Kiamrian Abbasov
- Undefeated Dutchman will return to Singapore in three weeks for exhibition bout against one of the greatest grapplers of all time
- Two-division MMA champion tells Vitaly Bigdash to make weight before ‘talking a big game’ after both win at ONE: Full Circle event
To say Reinier de Ridder is confident in his abilities would be an understatement.
“I’m the best fighter on the planet,” he said, matter-of-factly, when asked if Friday night’s impressive ONE Championship title defence against Kiamrian Abbasov in Singapore qualified him as the greatest middleweight in the world.
That dominance could soon spread to another sport in Asian martial arts promotion ONE, with two-division MMA champ De Ridder revealing he will face Brazilian jiu jitsu legend Andre Galvao in a submission grappling match at the organisation’s 10th anniversary show on March 26.
The “Dutch Knight” (15-0) made the announcement soon after underlining his status as arguably ONE’s greatest pound for pound fighter, following a masterclass against welterweight champion Abbasov in Friday’s Full Circle main event.
De Ridder submitted Abbasov with a third-round arm triangle at Singapore Indoor Stadium, and later insisted he would be back in three weeks for an exhibition against one of the greatest grapplers of all time.