Reinier de Ridder, one of ONE Championship’s top MMA stars, has left the Asian martial arts organization and will soon debut elsewhere.
After title glory in regional promotions 360 and Hit-FC, de Ridder arrived in ONE Championship five and a half years ago, making a splash on debut by submitting Fan Rong via brabo choke in just 75 seconds.
The Dutchman went on to win his next six fights, collecting both the middleweight (205 pounds) and light heavyweight (225 pounds) belts along the way, and defending the former twice with submission wins over Kiamrian Abbasov and Vitaly Bigdash.
De Ridder went on to lose both titles to the same man, however, with Anatoly Malykhin first wresting the light heavyweight strap from his possession with a violent knockout at ONE on Prime Video 5 in December 2022.
“The Dutch Knight” returned 15 months later, this time in defense of his middleweight gold. Malykhin successfully won the belt to secure a history-making third crowning, adding that title to his heavyweight and light heavyweight championships at ONE 166 in Qatar this past March.
That turned out to be de Ridder’s final outing in the Circle, with the 33-year-old exiting off the back of that two-fight losing skid.
De Ridder Set For UAE Warriors Debut Post-ONE Exit
The Dutch fighter will have the chance to return to winning ways soon after his confirmed departure from ONE, with the 33-year-old set to debut under a new promotional banner this month.
Per MMA Fighting, De Ridder has signed with UAE Warriors and will debut at an event in Abu Dhabi next Saturday, July 27. He’s set to share the cage with Magomedmurad Khasaev in a light heavyweight bout.
News of de Ridder’s venture away from ONE quickly saw fans ponder a future move to either the UFC or PFL. The latter promotion has already capitalized on the apparent move away from MMA focus in ONE by signing the highly regarded Murad Ramazanov.
ONE will, however, stage mixed martial arts action in the United States this year, first with ONE 168 in Denver this September.
Two months later, de Ridder’s two time opponent Malykhin will headline ONE 169 in Atlanta, defending his heavyweight title against Oumar “Reug Reug” Kane.
