“Just a nice thing to have” - Reinier de Ridder says his length and reach advantage has been key

Reigning ONE middleweight and light heavyweight world champion ‘The Dutch Knight’ Reinier de Ridder has proven to be a tricky puzzle to solve for his opponents in the ONE Championship circle.

The 32-year-old Breda, Netherlands native believes it’s because of his particular body type, which has been advantageous in his undefeated run of 16 wins and no losses.

In a recent interview with The MMA Superfan, Reinier de Ridder talked about the natural physical gifts he has been blessed with as a fighter, and how it helps him against his foes.

‘The Dutch Knight’ said:

“The good thing is I'm always longer right. So whatever weight we fight in, I always have the reach advantage. So that's just a nice thing to have.”

The Dutch grappler will need every advantage he can get when he takes on his physically imposing next opponent.

Reinier de Ridder is set to face ONE interim heavyweight world champion Anatoly Malykhin of Russia in the main event of ONE on Prime Video 5 this week, when ONE Championship returns to the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines. The Dutchman's ONE light heavyweight world title will be on the line.

If de Ridder wins, he that he can hang with the heavyweight elite, and will most likely challenge for the heavyweight belt next. If Malykhin wins, he becomes the latest two-division ONE world titleholder. Needless to say, there’s a lot on the line when the two go head-to-head.

ONE on Prime Video 5: De Ridder vs. Malykhin broadcasts live on Friday, December 2, and is free for fans in the United States and Canada with an Amazon Prime subscription.

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Reinier de Ridder says it’s easier to submit people in MMA

While he’s on a quest to develop his striking, grappling will always be Reinier de Ridder’s area of expertise.

So much so that the Dutch superstar even competed in a submission grappling match against Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend Andre Galvao at ONE X this past March.

In an interview with Morning Kombat, de Ridder said that there’s a difference between MMA and submission grappling in terms of forcing people to tap.

The two-division world champion admitted that it’s easier to choke his opponents out under MMA rules as compared to pure submission grappling:

“To be honest, it’s a lot easier sometimes to set some stuff up. I grappled [Andre] Galvao last year. In grappling, sometimes it’s hard to get to places, because they can really stall. And then in MMA, once I get on top, I can get some elbows involved, get some punches involved and then I can really force them to move. Then that elbow opens up some more stuff. Sometimes it’s easier to choke people in MMA than it is in grappling.”

Catch the full interview below: