Reinier de Ridder on beating Andre Galvao

Reinier de Ridder just won against ONE world champion in welterweight Kiamrian Abbasov at ONE: Full Circle. He has been looking forward to his next game, which he says has the potential to become the ‘biggest achievement’ of his career.

After successfully defending his middleweight world title against Abbasov, de Ridder went on to name Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion Andre Galvao. He challenged Galvao to a grappling match at ONE: X, the 10th anniversary of ONE Championship’s history taking place on March 26.

While de Ridder said it was ONE’s idea, he fully accepted the challenge and looks forward to rolling with the wrestling legend. And while the match has not been officially confirmed by the promotionit was firmly in the mind of the two tournament champion.

In a recent interview with SCMP MMA, de Ridder talks about how the idea took shape and what it means to him. He say:

“I received it from a week ago [Abbvasov] Fight. They called me and they said ‘we have something nice for you.’ I was delighted, man. I am very satisfied with this. ”

When asked where a win over Galvao would rank in terms of his career achievement, de Ridder said that as a jiu-jitsu guy, it would come first. He added:

“For me personally, at the top, at the top. Because I got into this sport, the jiu-jitsu side, and when I started, he was the one who beat everyone. And actually, he’s still the same, 10 years later, he’s still the same. So for me, that would be the greatest achievement of my life. ”

Watch Reinier de Ridder’s interview with SCMP MMA below:

Reinier de Ridder wants to strangle Andre Galvao, fight Gordon Ryan next

It seems the sky is the limit for Reinier de Ridder. With all he’s accomplished in the Circle so far, he says he’s only just beginning to scratch the surface of what’s possible.

For de Ridder, defeating Galvao was just the beginning. He’s poised to face Gordon Ryan and other grappling stars in the future. ‘Knight of the Netherlands’ says:

“Yes, man, who would have thought when I started this game of jiu-jitsu that I could wrestle with one of the best in the world, one of the best ever to do it. Man, it’s a great honor. And even considering that, I think I have a shot to strangle this guy. That’s great, buddy. Very interesting.”

He added:

“I tested my skills against the elite, and I came out on top every time. So why not go up against this guy? It’s a big jump. It’s a big competition. But I think I’m ready for it.”

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