EXCLUSIVE | Reinier De Ridder Eyes Third Belt, Fight With Adesanya
Reinier De Ridder is already eyeing a third ONE Championship title after becoming a double champ by claiming the middleweight and light-heavyweight titles in two separate fights against Aung La Nsang.
In an interview with LowKickMMA’s Keelin McNamara, De Ridder insisted that although a fight with current ONE Championship heavyweight titleholder, Arjan Bullar seems unlikely, his goal is secure that strap as an undefeated fighter.
“Arjan has already said that he’s not really down and he’s been talking about WWE and stuff. So I don’t know. I don’t know if he’s down,” De Ridder said. “But, it’s a clear goal and I’m looking for a clear goal, to be triple champ. The first one. I’m the first ever undefeated Double-Champ. So let me be the first on the feet of the triple check. That’d be cool, right? That’s something to really look forward to, to work for.
De Ridder believes the best talent remain in the UFC and he hopes that one day he’ll get to test himself against the likes of Israel Adesanya inside the Octagon.
“Well, they’re (the UFC) deeper, right? So you see much deeper rosters. It’s still the most prestigious belt out there,” De Ridder said. “I think ONE can compete on an individual basis. So I think I’ll do very well. Aung would do well in the UFC, especially if he fights another striker, the guy’s almost impossible to put away. He has a granite chin. He has power in his hand and then his leg is just incomparable to anybody.
“If you’ve seen the last five Izzy fights, especially versus. What’s his name? Marvin Vettori, the Italian guy that double started on the other side of the cage, man.” De Ridder added. “What he (Vettori) thinks is he (Adesanya) has no good down defense in the open space. He is pretty good if they got a defense against the cage, but they got an offense in the open space. It’s sh*t, man. We guess they can very easily, well, I think I would really like to a shot one day with him.
Do you think Reinier De Ridder will achieve his goal of becoming a three-weight champion with ONE Championship?
