“Jiu-jitsu is the boss” - Reinier de Ridder is picking Kade Ruotolo to beat Uali Kurzhev at ONE on Prime Video 3

Reigning ONE middleweight and light heavyweight world champion ‘The Dutch Knight’ Reinier de Ridder is patiently waiting for his next assignment, whether that’s defending one of his golden belts or going after a third one at heavyweight.

But while he’s on the sidelines anticipating the inevitable call, the Dutchman will enjoy himself while watching the proceedings at ONE on Prime Video 3 this Friday night.

19-year-old Brazilian jiu-jitsu phenom Kade Ruotolo of the United States is scheduled to face multi-time judo and sambo world champion Uali Kurzhev of Russia at ONE on Prime Video 3: Lineker vs. Andrade.

The event is set to be broadcast live via Prime Video from the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on October 21. The match will be for the inaugural ONE lightweight submission grappling world title.

A fellow jiu-jitsu specialist himself, Reinier de Ridder couldn’t help but express his support for Ruotolo. In an exclusive interview with ONE Championship, ‘The Dutch Knight’ said:

"I'm going with Kade. Sambo and judo are [good], but jiu-jitsu is the boss. And Kade is on a different level right now."

Ruotolo is arguably the hottest BJJ fighter in the world right now, and is fresh off winning a gold medal at this year’s ADCC in Las Vegas. At the age of 19, the American became the youngest gold medal winner in the history of the prestigious tournament. He submitted all four of his opponents en route to his historic podium finish.

Of course, it’s no surprise that de Ridder would pick such a talented grappler like Ruotolo. While the undefeated 32-year-old appreciates the level of complexity martial arts such as judo and sambo present, de Ridder still believes jiu-jitsu reigns supreme.

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Reinier de Ridder is ready to find his "next victim" in ONE Championship

Reigning ONE middleweight and light heavyweight world champion ‘The Dutch Knight’ Reinier de Ridder can’t wait to get back into the circle and take out his next victim.

He was originally scheduled to fight at ONE on Prime Video 3 this Friday. However, his opponent got injured and had to pull out. Now the Dutchman is waiting patiently for another call to action.

While waiting, ce Ridder shared on Instagram his mindset when going in and out of fights. He wrote:

"Two books I read have really pushed me to the next level recently. If you want to do something extraordinary in life or if you want to get to know my mindset better. You need to read @timgrover his books. It has done a lot for me to read that there is more people like me and it has really made me realize it is ok to think the way I do.”

Here’s to hoping Reinier de Ridder gets called back in the circle soon.