Reinier de Ridder reflects on being part of monumental ONE Fight Night 10 card

While he did not get the winning result he was looking for, ONE middleweight world champion Reinier de Ridder still had a grand time being part of the historic first-ever live on-ground event in the United States of ONE Championship last month.

‘The Dutch Knight’ fell by unanimous decision to American phenom Tye Ruotolo in their middleweight submission grappling superfight at ONE Fight Night 10 on Prime Video on May 5 in Colorado.

Reinier de Ridder gave Tye Ruotolo a lot to handle but in the end was not able to get the nod of the judges. Despite the loss, the 32-year-old Combat Brothers standout said fighting before an American audience was an experience all its own and he feels fortunate to have been able to experience it.

He told the South China Morning Post in an interview:

“Very cool, man. It was cool to be part of the American card for the first time. The crowd was crazy. It's a lot different than Asia. Asia's cool, they're very respectful. They really liked the fighting and stuff. But the people in America, they come for a party. They're all out of their mind. They're all cheering, they're happy, but everything is very cool.”

Check out the interview below:

Reinier de Ridder is currently charting his next path, with a showdown against Kade Ruotolo down the line a possibility, he said.

He is also looking to get a rematch with Russian Anatoly Malykhin, who took the ONE light heavyweight world title from him last December in Manila. 'The Dutch Knight,' too, is open to taking all-comers for his middleweight championship title.

ONE Fight Night 10 was played at the sold-out 1stBank Center in Denver. Its replay is available for free on Amazon Prime in North America.