“The skills to beat any middleweight in the UFC’s top 10” - Dan Hardy on Reinier de Ridder

Undefeated and undisputed ONE middleweight and light heavyweight world champion Reinier de Ridder impressed many with his inverted triangle submission finish over Vitaly Bigdash at ONE 159 last Friday.

‘The Dutch Knight’ certainly made a ton of new fans with his electric performance in the Singapore Indoor Stadium, including retired English MMA icon Dan ‘The Outlaw’ Hardy.

Hardy witnessed the events of ONE 159 unfold. He watched as De Ridder expertly caught Bigdash in his web of grappling mastery, fading the hulking Russian into unconsciousness. He secured for himself a first-round finish and a hefty US$50,000 performance bonus from ONE Championship.

A day after the event, ‘The Outlaw’ took to Twitter to share his thoughts on De Ridder’s submission finish. He wrote:

“I think De Ridder has the skills to beat any middleweight in the UFC’s top 10. That inverted triangle he landed yesterday on @ONEChampionship was so slick. Where would you put him in the international rankings? #UFC #OneFC #WeAreONE #MMA”

Hardy last fought in September 2012, winning a unanimous decision over Amir Sadollah. He has flirted with the idea of a comeback in recent years, most recently with ONE Championship itself, but hasn’t been able to confirm a return bout.

Perhaps Reinier de Ridder’s victory could inspire Hardy to fight again so that fans can witness the Englishman don the 4-ounce gloves once more.

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What’s next for Reinier de Ridder?

Reinier de Ridder’s run through the ONE Championship ranks has been nothing short of dominant. The 31-year-old from Breda, Netherlands is yet to meet a man his equal in the Circle, and soon, he will be coming for a third world title in his division.

Immediately after his victory over Vitaly Bigdash, ‘The Dutch Knight’ made his intentions known. When veteran commentator Mitch ‘The Dragon’ Chilson asked the Dutchman in his post-fight interview what was next for his career, De Ridder looked into the cameras and said simply:

“I'm done asking. You know what's next.”

The two-division ONE world champion has made it clear he wants a shot at becoming an unprecedented three-division world champion, something that has never been done before in mixed martial arts.

The reigning ONE heavyweight world champion is Canadian-Indian Arjan Bhullar, while the ONE interim heavyweight world champion is Russia’s Anatoly Malykhin.

Reinier de Ridder joked that he would fight both men on the same night. But the 31-year-old has been so impressive that it may not be that far-fetched to think he could pull off something like that.