Reinier de Ridder says size advantage over Tye Ruotolo is ‘nice’ but not underestimating opponent

Reinier de Ridder knows he’ll have a distinct size advantage against Tye Ruotolo, but ‘The Dutch Knight’ says that’s only part of the story.

After suffering the first loss of his career against ONE Championship Fighter of the Year Anatoly Malykhin in December, de Ridder is ready to get back into the Circle. He’ll do so on May 5 at 1sstBank Center when the promotion makes its long-awaited debut in the United States for ONE Fight Night 10 on Prime Video. Headlined by a ONE flyweight world championship trilogy bout between Demetrious Johnson and Adriano Moraes, ‘The Dutch Knight’ will take part in the festivities, competing in a submission grappling superfight with 20-year-old prodigy Tye Ruotolo.

Typically competing as a lightweight, Ruotolo will step up to middleweight for his matchup with de Ridder. Discussing his size advantage going into the bout with the South China Morning Post, the 6-foot-4 de Ridder said:

“Well, of course that’s nice, but he has his own benefits. He’s a full-time grappler, fully focused on this through the years. I have not been able to fully focus on grappling, of course, because I always had to do my wrestling, my cage work, and my striking. In that regard, he has the advantage there.”

Amazon Prime Video subscribers can catch Reinier de Ridder’s return to action live and for free in U.S. primetime.

Watch the interview below:

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Reinier de Ridder hones his grappling skills with two legends of the sport

Reinier de Ridder is not taking his matchup with Tye Ruotolo at ONE Fight Night 10 lightly. Recently, ‘The Dutch Knight’ spent some time in Texas, training alongside two legends of the sport, John Danaher and Gordon Ryan.

“Huge thanks to these two guys and everyone at new wave,’ de Ridder posted on Instagram. “It is still unreal to be able to learn from them. I will be implementing everything I learned in the coming months and I have retribution on my mind so get ready for RdR 2.0. I basically trained, ate and slept but if you have time here are some pictures and video's of my experience. I am at the airport right now and it is so good to be heading home. I will not let go of my kids for 2 days.❤️Have a good one!”

John Danaher is one of the most decorated coaches in BJJ history. A 6th-degree black belt under Renzo Gracie, Danaher is best known for his establishment of the ‘Danaher Death Squad,’ an elite team of submission grapplers that ran roughshod over the competition at the biggest BJJ tournaments in the world including, IBJJF, ADCC, and the Eddie Bravo Invitational.

If Reinier de Ridder is intent on upping his submission game before May 5, it's safe to say that he is making the right moves by enlisting the help of one of the best BJJ teams in the world.