Reinier de Ridder on why he won’t come down to welterweight

ONE middleweight world champion Reinier de Ridder is on the hunt for new challenges but that doesn’t mean he’ll go down to welterweight to find one.

‘The Dutch Knight’ has just come out of a submission grappling showdown this past May against BJJ phenom Tye Ruotolo. Despite coming up short, de Ridder is more focused on reigning supreme in MMA.

While he waits for new challengers to his middleweight throne, the idea of De Ridder going down in weight and facing welterweight fighters has become an intriguing proposition. When prompted with that idea by SCMP MMA, here’s what the Dutchman replied:

“Just moving down to welterweight, it would have such an influence on my day-to-day life. I really, really needed a couple of months to get there, it would really be detrimental to my performance.”

Watch the full interview below:

At the moment, De Ridder could possibly be looking at fighting former rival and two-divisional world champion Aung La N Sang for his next world title defense.

They both met on two separate occasions, one for the ONE light heavyweight strap and the other for the ONE middleweight belt. With Aung La undefeated in his last three fights, it might be inevitable for the two to meet again inside the ONE Circle. It certainly would be a war through and through.

Also on the horizon as well, is perhaps another rematch with Anatoly Malykhin, the undisputed ONE light heavyweight and heavyweight world champion, who recently called out de Ridder after unifying the heavyweight belt last month.

But as De Ridder mentioned, everything will come in due time. Despite experiencing some setbacks, he wants a fighter who’s willing to fight on his terms. After all, there’s a reason why he’s considered to be among ONE’s pound-for-pound MMA fighters in the world.