Arjan Bhullar says Reinier de Ridder was "caught up in his own hype"

ONE heavyweight world champion Arjan Bhullar thinks Reinier de Ridder got served a slice of humble pie by two-division world champion Anatoly Malykhin in their meeting last year.

‘The Dutch Knight’ surrendered his ONE light heavyweight world title to the Russian heavy bomber after getting brutally knocked out in the first round at ONE on Prime Video 5.

After suffering the first loss of his MMA career, ‘RDR’ will return to his roots at ONE Fight Night 10: Johnson vs. Moraes III on Prime Video on May 5.

De Ridder will take on 20-year-old phenom Tye Ruotolo in a 10-minute middleweight submission grappling contest.

Bhullar, who’s had some heated back-and-forth with the ONE middleweight king in the past, told ONE Championship why this scenario is the perfect bounce-back fight for the Dutchman:

“I’m excited to see RDR already back out there. I think he got caught up in his own hype. But this grappling match with Tye is perfect for him. It’s right up his alley. That is what his wheelhouse is.”

After previously lording over two divisions, de Ridder has talked about claiming a third world title in the past by going for Bhullar’s heavyweight throne.

‘RDR’, for one, has been hyper-critical of ‘Singh’ for his inactivity in recent years. By the looks of it, the friction between these two supreme athletes has not died down one bit. However, before Renier de Ridder can reignite his rivalry with Bhullar in MMA, he must first get past the sensational Tye Ruotolo in their grappling-only showdown.

The promotion’s on-site US debut will take place at 1stBank Center in Colorado and air free for Prime Video users.