Reinier de Ridder says grappling with Andre Galvao gave him a lot of perspective

Reigning ONE middleweight world champion Reinier de Ridder is set to make his return to submission grappling later this year. He is drawing from his experience fighting legend Andre Galvao as he prepares for it.

'The Dutch Knight' will take on American phenom Tye Ruotolo in a middleweight submission grappling showdown at ONE Fight Night 10 on Prime Video. The event is set for May 5 at 1stBank Center in Colorado, U.S.A.

It will mark the first time Reinier de Ridder will grapple since he took on Galvao, Ruotolo’s mentor, at ONE X in March last year. The contest ended in a draw.

The Dutch fighter shared to SCMP MMA in an interview that his match with Galvao provided an added perspective for him, which he now takes from in preparation for his bout with the younger Ruotolo.

Reinier de Ridder said:

“Not extra motivation, but it does give some [perspective]. Like in the Galvao fight I took on three weeks notice. I was coming from an MMA fight and didn’t really have enough time for grappling. Now I’ve just been grappling for months and I’ll be grappling for two more months before the match happens. That gives me a lot of confidence.”

'The Dutch Knight' last fought in December, losing the ONE light heavyweight world title to Russian Anatoly 'Sladkiy' Malykhin. He now hopes to bounce back and move past his first-ever professional defeat.

ONE Fight Night 10 will take place at the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado. It will be aired live and for free to all Prime Video subscribers in North America.

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Reinier de Ridder says it’s "very cool" to get to grapple with Tye Ruotolo

Reinier de Ridder is focusing on mixed martial arts, but is open to stepping out of it here and there, particularly for submission grappling.

The reigning ONE middleweight world champion will compete in grappling on May 5, when he collides with American Tye Ruotolo in a grappling contest at ONE Fight Night 10 on Prime Video.

The match will be a full-circle moment for Reinier de Ridder, who last fought in submission grappling against Ruotolo's mentor Andre Galvao in 2022.

In an interview with ONE Championship, 'The Dutch Knight' relayed how excited he is to grapple with Ruotolo and how it is going to be a “cool” experience, especially after taking on his mentor Galvao previously.

Reinier de Ridder said:

“I expected something like that. It’s very cool that I got a shot at this. I got to grapple Andre Galvao, and I get to grapple Tye Ruotolo, who’s one of the hottest prospects right now in grappling.”

He added:

“I’m not even a grappler. I’m an MMA fighter, so it’s very cool that I get this opportunity.”

De Ridder is out to rebound after sustaining his first defeat in ONE last December in an MMA match against Russian Anatoly Malykhin. The loss saw him surrender the ONE light heavyweight gold.

Ruotolo, meanwhile, seeks to stay unbeaten in ONE submission grappling. He also fought back in December and defeated Marat Gafurov by submission.