ONE Championship continues to line the stacked ONE X event with stars. ONE Middleweight and Light Heavyweight World Champion Reinier De Ridder will return to action just one month after defending his middleweight crown for a special grappling match against Andre Galvao.
Following “The Dutch Knight’s” dominant title defense, De Ridder called out Galvao to see who is the best grappler in the world. The Brazilian has accepted the challenge, and the match will be added to the loaded event as first reported by MMAFighting.com.
De Ridder has used his grappling to establish an unblemished professional record at 15-0, where he has finished 10 of his opponents via submission.
De Ridder began his ONE tenure with a string of victories over Fan Rong, Gilberto Galvao, and Leandro Ataides. The 3-0 beginning on the global stage earned him his first shot at gold against Aung La N Sang. In under 4 minutes, “The Dutch Knight” choked out the reigning middleweight king to grab the title.
De Ridder got a short notice shot at the light heavyweight strap six months later. This time Aung La N Sang survived until the final bell, but De Ridder’s dominance was evident.
But Galvao is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu legend.
The Brazilian has won ten World Championships and won the gold medal six times at the ADCC grappling championships. He will be a monumental challenge for the Dutchman on the mat.
Galvao signed with ONE back in November 2021 after announcing his intent to return to competition in both grappling and mixed martial arts. This will mark his promotional debut.
ONE X features five title tilts across kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Muay Thai. It will also feature a special mixed rules matchup between flyweight royalty Rodtang Jitmuangnon and Demetrious Johnson. Add in the grappling bouts, and ONE X shows fans a little bit of each martial art.
De Ridder and Galvao’s special grappling match will be a highlight for fans who love when the action hits the canvas.
ONE X will air live on Saturday, March 26.
