Reinier de Ridder says his kids will ‘grow up in the gym’

Most combat sports athletes don’t want their children following in their footsteps to a life of fighting, but not Reinier de Ridder. In fact, the former ONE light heavyweight world champion and middleweight king doesn’t see his kids living a life that doesn’t involve going to the gym to train in martial arts.

Speaking to ONE Championship in a recent interview, de Ridder talked about how he spends time with his kids outside of fighting. ‘The Dutch Knight’ said:

“We play outside a lot. We play inside a lot. Just whenever you let them free with the two of them, they start to play. They start to wrestle a bit. They start to play fight a little bit. So that’s very cool for me as well.”

It appears that de Ridder is the kind of father who loves ‘bring your kids to work day' and he already has at least one child who has shown an interest in doing what he does.

The Breda, Netherlands native continued:

“They will grow up in the gym, one way or another, so they will definitely train. My 2-year-old son really likes it. He’s always punching in the air. He wants to hit mitts, and he’s very into it.”

‘The Dutch Knight’ Reinier de Ridder will make his return to action against submission grappling superstar Tye Ruotolo in a middleweight contest. The two will lock horns at ONE Fight Night 10: Johnson vs Moraes III on Prime Video.

The event takes place live from the 1stBank Center in Colorado on Friday, May 5th, and streams for free in the United States and Canada via Amazon Prime.