Reinier de Ridder hopes ONE Championship won't throw Ruotolo twins into MMA gauntlet

While the Ruotolo brothers Tye and Kade are adamant about a potential move to mixed martial arts, Reinier de Ridder wants to see the twins slowly ease into the new sport.

The ONE middleweight world champion knows the brothers all too well, and he feels that the Brazilian jiu-jitsu superstars should steadily make their way to MMA.

De Ridder told the South China Morning Post that he hopes ONE Championship won't immediately throw Tye and Kade into a match against the top lightweight fighters in the promotion.

He said:

"I hope ONE gives them the chance to develop. So don't throw them in with a guy with a lot of experience right away because it's a night and day difference from jiu-jitsu to MMA. And not just striking.

De Ridder is a natural grappler, but he's also one of the best fighters on the planet. Boasting an impressive 16-1 professional record, 7-1 in ONE Championship, de Ridder is almost unbeatable in the multi-faceted sport.

'The Dutch Knight' opened his ONE Championship MMA run with seven straight wins, five of which were finishes. He ultimately claimed both the ONE middleweight and light heavyweight world titles during that streak.

The Ruotolo twins, meanwhile, have a combined 7-0 record in the promotion. Tye even holds a unanimous decision win over de Ridder in submission grappling.

Kade, an ADCC world champion, and Tye, an IBJJF world champion, revealed they've started working on their striking and even trained with Superbon Singha Mawynn and famed coach Trainer Gae in Thailand.

Though they've started working on the other aspects of MMA, it's still too early to tell how these two grappling superstars will fare.

Watch de Ridder's entire interview below: