"After this, I can use some rest' - Reinier de Ridder takes a breather after his American tour

Reinier de Ridder is looking forward to kicking back and relaxing after going gym-hopping across the United States.

The ONE light heavyweight and middleweight world champion went through Sanford MMA and American Top Team in Florida for the first two stops of his recent US trip. 'The Dutch Knight' then made his way to famed Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach John Danaher’s facility in Austin, Texas.

In an interview with South China Morning Post’s Tom Taylor, de Ridder said he enjoyed every bit of his time training with other fighters across different gyms.

Reinier de Ridder said:

“It was good fun, but after this, I could use some rest.”

The Dutch star first stopped at Sanford MMA, where he got to train with former title rival Aung La N Sang. He then made his way to American Top Team to roll with ONE flyweight world champion Adriano Moraes and 17-time BJJ world champion Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida.

His final stop on his American tour was Danaher’s gym, where he finally got to roll with five-time BJJ world champion Gordon Ryan.

Comparing the gyms he visisted, de Ridder said:

“I really liked Sanford. I really like the camaraderie, it’s very much like at home. It’s like a family and a lot of good guys wrestling-wise… ATT was mostly a grueling session with ‘Buchecha’. Just the philosophy and the way they approach training is something that really stuck in my mind.”

Reinier de Ridder added:

“Gordon’s skill is on another level, Danaher’s way of teaching really showed me a lot of stuff. Even small stuff like the words he uses, everything he says, everything he does is really thought about. It’s very interesting to me because I’m an analytical guy like myself… They really perfected their game, and it’s an honor to finally train with the guys.”

Catch the full interview below:

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For Reinier de Ridder, home will always be the best environment

Reinier de Ridder said that he still plans to hop around gyms when he’s in the United States, but he also pointed out that he would never trade his home team of Combat Brothers in the Netherlands for anything.

‘The Dutch Knight’ said he felt that he was a better fighter coming out of his different visits, but he’ll always have a longing for his friends and family back home.

“It’s nice to see some different styles, to see some different body types. But I need my friends, I need my family back home. I would never give up my home. I need my friends, I need my family back home to help me prepare for a fight.”

Reinier de Ridder added:

“But I’m planning on doing this more often, so after every fight, I might travel a bit and see some different gyms. I’ll get some different looks and then I’ll put it to work back home.”

We'll see if de Ridder's gym-hopping has brought him to an even higher level when he returns to the ONE circle.