ONE middleweight and light heavyweight champion Reinier de Ridder is positive he can beat UFC champions Jiri Prochazka and Israel Adesanya. Photo via Instagram (@deriddermma)
ONE middleweight and light heavyweight champion Reinier de Ridder is the promotion’s No. 1 pound-for-pound MMA fighter. He rides a seven-fight win streak since signing with ONE – and is not impressed by the champions in the UFC.
“In the UFC, top middleweights, you have like Pereira coming up now. Pereira, he’s basically just a striker, easy match-up. Adesanya is a pretty easy match-up, to be honest. Maybe Derek Brunson would be tougher. Robert Whittaker is definitely a harder match-up than Pereira and Adesanya,” de Ridder said to South China Morning Post MMA.
Reinier de Ridder: “Light heavyweight is also an option”
The ONE champion believes he would do well against the UFC light heavyweight elite as well.
“Light heavyweight is also an option,” de Ridder said. “I’m still taller than those guys like Prochazka, Jan, so that would also work. Those guys are basically just strikers as well. Prochazka, he got dominated in the grappling department last time, kinda.”
“I’m unstoppable man. No, I stop at Ngannou,” de Ridder joked.
The Dutch is undefeated with a professional record of 16-0. In his last outing he defended the ONE Middleweight championship with a Performance of the Night-winning technical submission over Vitaly Bigdash.
“I’m very happy how they treat me,” de Ridder said about ONE. “It will all come down to where can I prove myself, have the best fights, fight the most people, be the most active.