According to reports, the Dana White-led UFC has signed an absolute banger of a prospect in former ONE Championship two-division champion Reinier de Ridder. The Dutch fighter is considered one of the best mixed martial artists in the world at middleweight and light heavyweight, as he has floated between the two weight classes without really settling on one.

Of his seventeen career wins (in nineteen pro-MMA fights), the Dutchman has fifteen finishes. An overwhelming majority of them (twelve) have come via submission, which is not surprising since he is a former BJJ European Championships silver medallist. If anyone doubts his grappling credentials, he holds black belts in both Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Judo.

Of his three knockout victories, one of them came about in his fourth professional fight eight years ago, before he joined ONE. ‘The Dutch Knight’ faced German light heavyweight Alexander Heinrich on the main card of the Superior FC 15 card in October 2016, whom he stopped in the dying seconds of the first round with a fantastic knockout on the feet.

De Rennier had to wait for three years for his next knockout win. In his second fight at ONE, he faced Gilberto Galvão in 2019, dominating him in the first round, only to knock his opponent down in the second and finish his downed opponent there with knees (which is legal in ONE but not in the UFC).

There was an excruciatingly long wait for his third knockout win, which came after he left ONE earlier this year. On the main card of the UAE Warriors 51 card in late July, he rocked and then knocked out Magomedmurad Khasaev midway through the first round. But, his most famous and significant wins, of course, are the two title bouts in ONE.

How did Reinier de Ridder’s two ONE Championship title wins come about?

In a classic striker vs. grappler showdown, Reinier de Ridder stepped into the cage at ONE: Inside the Matrix in October 2020 to challenge the formidable striker and then-reigning ONE middleweight champion Aung La Nsang. Known as The Dutch Knight, de Ridder executed his game plan with surgical precision, weathering La Nsang’s explosive opening strikes before taking the fight where he wanted—on the mat. Once the grappling ace got La Nsang to the ground, it was clear his strategy was working to perfection.

By the three-and-a-half-minute mark of the first round, de Ridder had worn down La Nsang, softening him up with relentless ground control. With expert timing, he locked in a rear-naked choke, forcing the Burmese powerhouse to tap. In one fell swoop, de Ridder claimed the ONE middleweight title and announced himself as a force to be reckoned with.

Their story didn’t end there. In 2021, the Chatri Sityodtong-led promotion set up a high-stakes rematch, this time with the ONE light heavyweight belt on the line. La Nsang, looking for redemption, faced an even more calculated and dangerous de Ridder. Over the course of five rounds, The Dutch Knight dominated from bell to bell, outclassing La Nsang in every aspect and earning a lopsided unanimous decision. With that win, de Ridder became a two-division champion, cementing his status as one of the promotion’s all-time greats.

Now, with rumors swirling about de Ridder signing with the UFC, fans can only wonder how his relentless grappling and championship mindset will fare in the world’s premier MMA organization. Could he carve out the same legacy in the Octagon that he did in ONE? Let us know your thoughts on de Ridder’s potential UFC journey!