Reinier de Ridder went to BJJ "heaven" in recent trip to the United States

Reinier de Ridder went on a trip to the United States earlier this year and easily described the experience as Brazilian jiu-jitsu "heaven."

'The Dutch Knight' went to the United States and worked on his striking, among other things, at Sanford MMA. While he was in Florida, he also took the opportunity to roll with grappling legend ‘Buchecha’ Marcus Almeida and ONE flyweight world champion Adriano Moraes.

Later, he went to Texas to train with John Danaher and his crew of decorated grapplers.

In an interview with ONE Championship, de Ridder revealed that it was a memorable experience, especially with the level of talent he was able to work with during the trip.

“I went to Florida first and stayed there for a little bit. Then I traveled to Texas to train with Gordon Ryan and John Danaher, and Nicholas Meregali, and [BJJ heaven] was definitely the right choice of words.

“I got some rounds in with 'Buchecha' as well in Florida, but in Texas, man, I’ve trained under John before, and it’s just a great pleasure, a great honor. The only thing I dislike is they start very late, but everything else is perfect.”

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Reinier de Ridder hopes to show the results of his training at ONE 159

Now that his trip is over, Reinier de Ridder is setting his sights on getting another win in MMA.

The undefeated Dutchman is set to defend his ONE middleweight world championship against former titleholder Vitaly Bigdash at ONE 159 on July 22.

Bigdash worked his way back to world title contention by winning his last three fights. His latest victory concluded an epic trilogy with former two-division world champion Aung La N Sang. The hulking Russian is currently training in Thailand, and is looking stronger than ever in the weeks leading up to the event.

All the preparations and extra training that Reinier de Ridder has had over the past months will be put to the test once he returns against a fully motivated Vitaly Bigdash at ONE 159.