Reinier de Ridder gains a boost of confidence after training with John Danaher and New Wave team

ONE middleweight world champion, Reinier de Ridder, is feeling great going into his submission grappling matchup on May 5.

The Dutchman is going to take part in an upcoming super-match against Tye Ruotolo at middleweight in ONE Championship’s first on-site US card.

In preparation for his fight, de Ridder sought the help of New Wave Jiu Jitsu coach John Danaher and some of their ADCC training partners.

Speaking to the South China Morning Post (SCMP) this week, ‘The Dutch Knight’ said:

“To be honest, I’m pretty confident right now. I’ve been training with some of the ADCC champs there in Texas. Gordon [Ryan] and John [Danaher] have helped me out technique-wise. I’ve got a lot of rounds in with [Giancarlo] Bidoni and [Nicholas] Meregali. To be honest, I think I did pretty well against those guys. So I think I can hang with the top grapplers, and I’m very excited to get a chance to show that this time.”

Watch the full interview below:

De Ridder’s last submission grappling showdown took place in March 2022, during ONE Championship’s 10th anniversary extravaganza in Singapore. At ONE X, the submission specialist met Andre Galvao, a decorated BJJ black belt and co-founder of Atos Jiu-Jitsu Gym in California.

Accused of playing it safe with Galvao, De Ridder nonetheless showed great defensive techniques to avoid getting reeled into Galvao's game. They put on a great show but with no submissions for the duration of their match; they forced their encounter into a draw.

Watch Reinier de Ridder try to get his first submission grappling win against Andre Galvao’s pupil, Tye Ruotolo on May 5 at ONE Fight Night 10 on Prime Video. The event is set to take place at the 1stBank Center in Colorado and will be broadcast live and for free to American fans who have an active Prime Video subscription.

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Reinier de Ridder impressed by Anatoly Malykhin’s improved boxing skills and footwork

‘The Dutch Knight’ Reinier de Ridder admitted to being impressed by Anatoly Malykhin’s improved boxing skills and footwork.

Taking the world title match on five weeks’ notice, De Ridder was nonetheless hyper-confident about beating Malykhin by submission. Believing his opponent was going to be more abrasive and wild, what he saw instead was a more calculated and strategic Anatoly Malykhin that night.

Though he dropped his ONE light heavyweight world title to Malykhin, the reigning ONE interim heavyweight world champion, de Ridder had to compliment his Russian opponent.

Impressed by the Russian’s development in a short span of time, Reinier de Ridder told SCMP MMA in the same interview:

“In our fight he did amazing, to be honest. His footwork was very well and his in-and-out work was very good. He threw very strong straights. [They] were strong, sharp, and fast punches. He really developed a lot between his last two fights.”