Reinier De Ridder meets Shamil Abdulaev in ONE Fight Night 3 headliner

Bengaluru, September 8: ONE Middleweight and Light Heavyweight World Championship Reinier de Ridder will defend his middleweight crown just months after his last performance in the Circle.

De Ridder takes on Shamil Abdulaev at ONE Fight Night 3 (also known as ONE on Prime Video 3) on Saturday, October 22, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore.

"The Dutch Knight" last defended his middleweight strap in July at ONE 159, defeating Vitaly Bigdash by submission only three minutes into the first round.

The performance earned the Dutchman his second US$50,000 bonus of the year. His first came at ONE: Full Circle in February, when he defeated Kiamrian Abbasov in the third round by arm-triangle submission.

After what has been a spectacular year, De Ridder faces a rising Russian star in Abdulaev, who holds a record of 13-1. Eight of his wins have come by finish, and the 32-year-old is well-known for his wrestling skills.

However, the Dutch star has many accolades to his name. As a BJJ and judo black belt, De Ridder has put his grappling talents to the test many times within the Circle. He is currently 16-0 in MMA, and 14 of those wins have come by finish.

He is most famous for his two victories over former two-division ONE World Champion Aung La "The Burmese Python" N Sang. De Ridder initially finished the Myanmese athlete at ONE: Inside the Matrix in October 2020, and then later earned a unanimous decision in their second matchup at "ONE on TNT IV" in April 2021.

These accomplishments only continue to fuel the Breda-based fighter, as he feels he's not quite finished with the year yet.

In the meantime, download the ONE Super App to catch all the action at ONE 161: Petchmorakot vs. Tawanchai on Thursday, September 29, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. That will be followed up by ONE Fight Night 2: Xiong vs. Lee on Friday, September 30 at the same venue.

Source: Media Release