Reinier de Ridder on the fence on third match with Aung La N Sang

Reinier de Ridder isn’t too excited about a potential trilogy bout with Aung La N Sang.

‘The Dutch Knight’ will return to the circle on May 5, briefly stepping away from mixed martial arts to compete in a submission grappling superfight with 20-year-old BJJ prodigy Tye Ruotolo.

Expected to defend his ONE middleweight world championship before the year is out, Reinier de Ridder spoke with The MMA Superfan about potential challenges for his 26 pounds of gold.

Unsurprisingly, the name Aung La N Sang came up. As most ONE fans are aware, Reinier de Ridder captured both the ONE middleweight and light heavyweight world championships in back-to-back bouts against ‘The Burmese Python’ between 2020 and 2021.

With Aung La riding a two-fight win streak and climbing back into title contention, ‘The Dutch Knight’ was asked about a potential trilogy bout with the Myanmar superstar.

“I don’t know, it’s a bit of a hard one. I really like the guy by the way,” de Ridder said. “I really like Aung. I’ve been there, I trained with him. I would be happy with him if he’ll get another shot at the title. But yeah, I don’t know. I can’t say right now.”

After a run that saw him drop three out of four and two ONE world titles, it appeared to be just a matter of time before ‘The Burmese Python’ hung up his gloves for good. However, things quickly turned around for the fan-favorite after scoring two-straight first-round finishes against Japanese MMA legend Yushin ‘Thunder’ Okami and BJJ specialist Gilberto Galvao.

ONE Fight Night 10 will present Aung La N Sang with another opportunity to show the world that he’s not done yet. ‘The Burmese Python’ is set to square off against well-rounded Chinese standout Fan Rong. Should Aung La score another impressive win inside the circle, a third meeting with Reinier de Ridder could be right around the corner.

Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America can catch ONE Fight Night 10 live and for free in U.S. primetime on May 5.