Reinier de Ridder explains why he enjoys MMA

Reinier de Ridder started his martial arts journey with Brazilian jiu-jitsu at the age of five and transitioned to MMA in 2013. To say that he enjoys competing in martial arts may be an understatement for someone who has been training for most of his life.

In a recent interview with ONE, ‘The Dutch Knight’ shared what he enjoys most about competing in MMA:

“For MMA, especially right at that moment, when you step into the cage, those two minutes to 25 minutes, nothing else in the world than that. There's nothing else, it's just you, the opponent, and in that moment, there's only you and him and the goal you're working towards. That's the moment you feel the most alive.”

Reinier de Ridder looks to be enjoying success in the sport too, in the professional ranks. With a pristine 14-0 record in MMA, the Dutchman has shown that he is one of the best in the world to put on his gloves.

While he says that the adrenaline rush he feels can be replicated by other endeavors, competing and winning is what keeps him going:

“To some extent you can recreate it with other sports like snowboarding, or maybe diving, or the other extreme stuff, but there's nothing like MMA. There's nothing like those championship fights to feel that you're alive.”

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Reinier de Ridder will make his first world title defense at ONE: Full Circle

Reinier de Ridder hopes to continue his undefeated streak when he takes on ONE welterweight world champion Kiamrian Abbasov at ONE: Full Circle on February 25.

The match will be de Ridder’s first world title defense in the Circle. The 31-year-old claimed the ONE middleweight and light heavyweight world titles in back-to-back matches with Aung La N Sang over a span of six months. He looked to rule a third weight division, but understands his current championships are due to be defended.

Enter Kiamrian Abbasov. The Kyrgyz warrior defended his world title against James Nakashima in November 2020 and aimed to move up for another world title in a different division. Hence, when de Ridder issued a challenge in December 2021, ‘Brazen’ was quick to accept.

Now we know that they’re not all talk, as they put pen to paper to set up their headlining bout at ONE: Full Circle.

Will Abbasov rise to be the ONE Championship’s newest two-division world champion or can Reinier de Ridder make good on his predictions and extend his undefeated record? We’ll find out on February 25.