One Championship News & Features“The Dutch Knight” wants to make it three in a row.
April was an excellent month for Reinier de Ridder (14-0, 5-0 One). The 30-year old from the Netherlands stepped up on short notice to face light heavyweight titleholder Aung La N Sang at One on TNT 4 after his scheduled opponent, Vitaly Bigdash, was forced to withdrawal after a positive COVID-19 test. De Ridder accepted the challenge on 5-day’s notice and went on to dominate his opponent en route to a unanimous decision victory. The pair had already once met in October 2020, when “The Dutch Knight” submitted “The Burmese Python” in the opening round at One: Inside the Matrix.
Shortly after that victory, the Dutch fighter called out the then heavyweight champion Brandon Vera. A few days later, “The Truth” lost the belt, but “The Dutch Knight” still aims to capture the heavyweight crown.
“While I’m at it with history-making, why not try for three [belts], right? As far as I know, I’m the only double champ ever, so let’s make it the only undefeated triple champ,” he said while talking with Sherdog.
Under the One Championship’s banner, De Ridder is the current titleholder of the 205-pound and the 225-pound belt. In his opinion, he won’t suffer too much if he moves up a division to 265 because his grappling technique will best all his opponents.
“I’m focusing a little more on the weight lifting, but to be honest, as a natural athlete, it’s not easy to put on a lot of muscle,” he added. “I don’t really mind anyway. When I’m in the right mindset, when I’m in shape and strong, I’m physically sharp, I’m mentally sharp, my technique is on point. I don’t mind anyway, I only had a few kilos on me. I can take anybody down, and I can finish that way.”
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Tudor Leonte started writing about mixed martial arts in 2013 for Italian media outlets. His journey with Sherdog begun in 2018 and now he covers One Championship and countless European shows. You can follow him on Twitter @Tudor_leo.
