Reinier De Ridder-Tye Ruotolo Submission Grappling Battle Locked In for ONE Fight Night 10

The card for ONE Championship’s debut show on American soil, ONE Fight Night 10: Johnson vs. Moraes III on Prime Video, has received another massive bout. 

The event, which airs live from 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado on Friday, May 5, will now feature a submission grappling super-fight between ONE Middleweight World Champion Reinier “The Dutch Knight” de Ridder and BJJ black belt Tye Ruotolo. 

The pair’s collision course began almost a year ago, following “The Dutch Knight’s” submission grappling bout against Ruotolo’s coach, Andre Galvao, at ONE X last March. 

The match ended in a draw, with Galvao controlling most of the exchanges on the canvas, but the former two-division king stated that he believed he could choke anybody out inside the Circle.

Ruotolo refused to accept this as fact, however, and when he drew a tap from former ONE Featherweight World Champion Marat “Cobra” Gafurov at ONE on Prime Video 5 in December, the grappling phenom called out De Ridder for a submission-only battle.

“I see Reinier de Ridder says he can sub anyone in the world. I’d definitely like to test that. He’s a bit taller, but I think I can definitely sub him,” he said. 

Read more: “Enough Wrestling, De Ridder” – Anatoly Malykhin Implores RDR to Stand and Trade at ONE on Prime Video 5

The Dutchman accepted the challenge quickly, albeit on the same night that he would drop his light heavyweight gold to Anatoly “Sladkiy” Malykhin. 

The rivalry continues regardless

Despite suffering the first loss of his career, De Ridder continued to pursue the rivalry with Ruotolo. And in January, he uploaded an image of himself with the Ruotolo twins on Instagram, with a teasing caption that confirmed his interest in the match.

“Here’s a picture of me and my sons. Do you think one of them can beat their dad in a grappling match already?” the middleweight king wrote.

Now, after months of verbal sparring, the pair will finally meet at ONE’s first show to be broadcast live from the U.S.

Read more: Demetrious Johnson, Reinier De Ridder, and Liam Harrison Predict ONE Fight Night 6 Main Event Between Superbon and Allazov

De Ridder vs. Ruotolo is just the latest addition to ONE Fight Night 10 in Colorado, headlined by a trilogy showdown between ONE Flyweight World Champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson and former titleholder Adriano “Mikinho” Moraes.

Other bouts confirmed for the May 5 card include Sage Northcutt vs. Ahmed Mujtaba and Stamp Fairtex vs. Alyse Anderson.