Andre Galvao, one of the most accomplished submission grapplers in history, is just over a week out from his ONE Championship debut – and he plans on making an entrance. The 39-year-old Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt will take his first steps into the ONE Circle at ONE X on March 26 in Singapore, where he will meet two-division MMA champion Reinier de Ridder in a 12-minute, submission-only grappling match. “It’s a great pleasure for me to represent ONE Championship,” the five-time IBJJF world champion said on a pre-fight media conference call on Thursday. “It’s going to be amazing.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Andre Galvao Official (@galvaobjj) Galvao’s bout with De Ridder was announced soon after the latter defended the middleweight title with a submission victory over Kiamrian Abbasov at ONE: Full Circle last month. However, it was in the works for much longer than that. “We were negotiating for a couple months,” he said. “He did really well [against Abbasov]. He controlled the fight, had no problems, and after that he felt confident and he called me out. “He was like, ‘Hey Andre Galvao, I’ll choke you out!’ I was like, ‘Woah – so he wants the fight really bad’.” De Ridder, while significantly less experienced than Galvao on the submission grappling circuit, is also a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt with a proven predilection for locking up limbs and necks. Still, Galvao expects to coax the tap at ONE X. “I see him doing this,” he said with a laugh, mimicking a tap with his hand. “I noticed he exposes the back a lot so will I go for that, and if not, I will find different ways to get the submission and close the space,” he added. “He has very long limbs, he likes to work with the arm triangles, the body lock. [He has a] little bit of judo as well. “It will be interesting, but I’ll overcome this challenge. I’m confident. I’m well trained. I will get the sub.” ONE Championship’s De Ridder says he would ‘squeeze Adesanya’s head off’ Just do not take Galvao’s confidence for disrespect. He has studied De Ridder’s fights – both in MMA and submission grappling – and is very impressed with what he has seen from the 31-year-old Dutchman. “I watch a bit of his footage and his history,” he said. “I have a lot of respect for him as well. It’s not easy to be double champ at ONE. He’s a tough guy. So I’m very happy to be in front of him. “He’s a black belt. He’s not just an MMA fighter that’s a purple belt – those guys that train just a little bit of jiu jitsu,” he continued. “His background is jiu jitsu. He knows jiu jitsu. “I’m not taking this fight as an easy fight. I never fought easy fights. I always like the toughest guys. He’s the toughest guy in ONE Championship and he knows jiu jitsu.” When Galvao signed with ONE in late 2021, it was with the intention of competing in both submission grappling and MMA contests. While he is currently preoccupied with his bout with De Ridder, he remains interested in competing in MMA under the ONE banner in the future – despite not attempting that sport since a 2010 knockout loss to future UFC champion Tyron Woodley. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Chatri Sityodtong (@yodchatri) “I’m focused a lot on grappling but I’m training MMA around 2 or 3 times a week now,” he said. “I feel better and better. My last fight was in 2010, so there’s a huge gap right there, but I’m ready.” “I’m just going there to Singapore – it’s my first time,” he added. “I want to feel the arena, feel the event. I want to know everyone, meet [ONE CEO] Chatri [Sityodtong] for the first time personally. I want to know all the staff and everyone. The next step is for sure going and fighting MMA as well.” ONE Championship is seemingly Galvao’s oyster, but for the time being, his focus is on introducing himself to the Asian martial arts promotion’s fan base – one he suspects might be unfamiliar with his staggering body of work. Eduard Folayang reflects on decade with ONE Championship “I want to do this really well and show my work to the world,” he said. “There’s a part of the world that probably doesn’t know much about Andre Galvao, so right now is a great moment. It’s a blessing. I have nothing to complain about. “This fight will show people who is Andre Galvao in ONE. It’s gonna be something where people say, ‘I want to see Andre Galvao go fight MMA now’. “It’s gonna be an awesome introduction.” The 19-fight ONE X event will be broken into three segments, with the first and second airing on the promotion’s official website, and the third airing exclusively on pay-per-view. Galvao and De Ridder will meet in the co-headlining feature of the event’s second portion.