Reinier de Ridder is confident he'll finish challenger Kiamrian Abbasov in their middleweight title tilt at ONE: Full Circle.
The 31-year-old, known as ‘The Dutch Knight’, isn't eyeing a regular submission or knockout inside the Singapore Indoor Stadium on February 25. Instead, he wants to defend his crown against the welterweight king with a highlight-reel win that will earn him a US$50,000 performance bonus.
In an Instagram post on Tuesday, de Ridder advised ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong to get the reward prepared in advance.
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“@yodchatri get the performance bonus ready"
The Breda native has been itching to return to competition following a couple of stellar outings in the Circle. In his last two fights, he captured Aung La N Sang’s light heavyweight and middleweight world titles.
Those victories exhibited his extensive talent. 'The Dutch Knight' dominated ‘The Burmese Python’ across all departments to earn a first-round submission during their first meeting and a clear-cut decision win when they rematched at 102.1kg.
Now that an opponent and date for his next fight have been confirmed, he wants to showcase why he is potentially the best martial artist of his era.
Reinier de Ridder has a chance to become a three-division world champion in ONE
When asked in interviews last year, de Ridder confessed that he'd love to enter the welterweight or heavyweight mix to grab a third world title, which would make him the first man to do so.
That plan will have to be put on hold for now, as the promotion has granted Abbasov a chance to try and become a two-division world champion.
However, if the undefeated Dutchman can take out Abbasov, defend his middleweight gold and earn the US$50,000 bonus next month, he could potentially shed a couple of kilograms and earn a rematch against Abbasov for the Kyrgzstani's welterweight title later this year.
For his part, Abbasov has wiped out most of the top contenders in the welterweight division. His power, explosiveness and world-class grappling skills have bested Zebaztian Kadestam, Agilan Thani, Yushin Okami and James Nakashima.
However, de Ridder still doesn't think his upcoming opponent's arsenal can stop him from extending his perfect 14-0 career record on February 25.