"First round, some knees to the head" - Reinier De Ridder says Andre Galvao is easy work in MMA

Reinier de Ridder is confident he can finish off Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend Andre Galvao if ever they face each other in a mixed martial arts contest.

De Ridder, who's preparing to face Vitaly Bigdash at ONE 159 on July 22 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, had his first meeting against Galvao when they featured in a submission grappling match at ONE X last March.

The ONE light heavyweight and middleweight world champion battled Galvao, one of the best BJJ artists of all time, to a draw in what could just be the start of a series of fights between them.

De Ridder, who went into Galvao’s element in the match, said in an interview with ONE Championship that things would be wildly different if they met in an MMA bout. The double champion believes Galvao, a seven-time BJJ world champion, will be no match for him in the multi-faceted sport. He even predicted that he’ll have no problems finishing the grappling legend.

“It would be over pretty soon. First round, some knees to the head, I imagine. Something like that would end it, but I don’t think we’ll see it anytime soon. But maybe one day. It would be cool.”

De Ridder is one of the most dangerous fighters in the world, holding a perfect 15-0 record in his overall career and 6-0 in ONE Championship.

The 31-year-old also has four finishes in the organization, including a first-round submission win over Burmese legend Aung La N Sang to become the ONE middleweight world champion in October 2020.

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Reinier de Ridder says Andre Galvao fought defensively during their match

Reinier de Ridder and Andre Galvao were both respectful of each other following their tussle at ONE X. The two grapplers, however, still managed to sneak in a few barbs at each other after the result.

Galvao claimed that de Ridder just wanted to survive in their contest while ‘The Dutch Knight’ said ‘Deco’ was too defensive in their matchup.

“[Galvao] was the one [in guard], so I think he was in defense mode. But at the end, he got on top [and] he tried to pass a little bit. But it was a bit of a back-and-forth match, and it was an honor to grapple with a guy like Galvao, and it was good fun.”

He added that things could end differently if he faces Galvao in another submission grappling match.

After ONE X, Reinier de Ridder took the time to train across multiple gyms rolling with BJJ superstars Garry Tonon, Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida, and ONE flyweight world champion Adriano Moraes.

“Maybe now with the new skills, it might end differently.”