Reinier de Ridder to meet Andre Galvao in grappling match at ONE X

Bengaluru, March 11: Reinier de Ridder called out Andre Galvao after he made quick work of Kiamrian Abbasov at ONE: Bad Blood on February 25.

And the reigning ONE Middleweight and Light Heavyweight World Champion "The Dutch Knight", who used the microphone to share his thoughts on where he wanted to go next, finally got his wish as he is set for an appearance at ONE X.

"In three weeks at ONE X, Andre Galvao, let's find out who the best grappler is around these parts. Let's go, man, I'll choke you out," the undefeated titleholder said.

To which Galvao responded via Instagram: "Hey @onechampionship, let's make it happen!!! I'm ready!"

It looks like the combat sports gods answered their request, as the two Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu titans will now have their seismic encounter at ONE's 10-year anniversary event, ONE X, on March 26 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

While the fighting pride of Breda has enjoyed most of his success in mixed martial arts, he holds black belts in BJJ and judo.

The victory over Abbasov represented his first defense of the ONE Middleweight World Title since he won it from Aung La "The Burmese Python" N Sang at ONE: Inside the Matrix in 2020.

However, the undefeated athlete revealed that he would like to fight more in 2022, starting with the grappling match against Galvao.

With this bout set in stone, the 39-year-old southpaw from Sao Paulo will now finally make his debut in The Home of Martial Arts. That said, he is a well-accomplished martial artist with five BJJ World Titles and six ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championships.

Moreover, Galvao holds 11 gold medals from the Pan American Championships from 2004 to 2014. The legend also struck gold three times in the BJJ World Cup from 2012 to 2014.

The fourth-degree BJJ black belt made his MMA debut in 2008 and has competed in DREAM FC and Strikeforce.

Throughout his fighting career, Galvao has defeated jiu-jitsu greats like Antonio Braga Neto, Vinny Magalhaes, Rousimar Palhares, Pablo Popovitch, Braulio Estima, and Roberto Abreu, to name a few.

Meanwhile, de Ridder is undefeated in 15 MMA fights, six of which have happened inside the Circle. He has also scored four victories in ONE via early finishes, with three coming by submission.

The Combat Brothers mainstay earned a first-round submission win over Fan Rong in his promotional debut at ONE: Hero's Ascent in 2019.

Since then, the 31-year-old titleholder submitted Aung La N Sang and Abbasov to gain and retain the ONE Middleweight World Championship.

Source: Media Release