Reinier de Ridder understands his performance could be affected by Colorado altitude

Former ONE light heavyweight world champion and reigning middleweight king Reinier de Ridder knows he is in for a tough yet interesting evening against Brazilian jiu-jitsu phenom Tye Ruotolo next week.

De Ridder is already en route to Denver, where his match will take place, in order to prepare himself for the vaunted Colorado elevation.

In a recent guesting on YouTube podcast, The MMA Superfan, De Ridder expressed concern about fighting at elevation, but said that as long as he’s able to acclimate for a few days, he should be fine.

‘The Dutch Knight’ said:

“It’s interesting [to fight] at altitude, which is seriously something that I want to tackle in the right way. I really want to approach this in the right way and get it done so I can perform to my ultimate ability. That’s interesting as well.”

Reinier de Ridder will face IBJJF world champion Tye Ruotolo at ONE Fight Night 10: Johnson vs Moraes III on Prime Video. The event broadcasts live from 1stBank Center in Denver, Colorado on Friday, May 5th, and will stream absolutely free to fans in the United States and Canada via an active Amazon Prime subscription.

When he’s on point, De Ridder is no doubt a hard man to stop. His 16-1 clip in mixed martial arts competition is exceptional. The tall and lanky Dutchman is highly skilled on the ground, evident by the 11 submission wins on his resume.

Meanwhile, Ruotolo is one half of the famous Ruotolo twins in BJJ. His twin brother Kade is the reigning ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion. Tye, on the other hand, is the youngest IBJJF world champion in history.

For all the latest news and updates straight from Colorado, tune in to Sportskeeda as we deliver you up-to-the-minute coverage on this spectacular event.