Reinier de Ridder (born September 7, 1990), also known by his initials RDR, is a Dutch professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

. He currently competes in the

Middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have beg ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

(UFC). He previously competed in

ONE Championship ONE Championship, formerly ONE Fighting Championship (ONE FC) until January 2015, is a Multinational corporation, multinational combat sports Promoter (entertainment), promotion founded on 14 July 2011 by Chatri Sityodtong and Victor Cui. Origi ...

, where he is a former ONE Middleweight World Champion and

ONE Light Heavyweight World Champion This is a list of ONE Championship champions in each weight division of each sport. Current champions , Xiong Jing Nan , align=center , January 20, 2018 , align=center , , align=center , 7 , - ! align=left , Atomweight , Denice Zamboan ...

. De Ridder was the third two-division champion in ONE history, having previously held the middleweight and light heavyweight belts simultaneously. As of July 22, 2025, he is #13 in the UFC middleweight rankings.

Background

Reinier de Ridder started with

Judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

at the age of six and earned a black belt in his teens. After high school he began training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu while attending college and became a black belt. He also owns a physical therapy clinic in Breda, combining his working hours with his training hours.

Grappling career

De Ridder won a silver medal at the European Jiu-Jitsu Championship in 2016. De Ridder returned to submission grappling competition at ONE X on March 26, 2022 against

André Galvão André Luiz Leite Galvão (; born September 29, 1982) is a Brazilian grappler and professional mixed martial artist. A 4th degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Fernando "Tererê" Augusto as well as a judo black belt, Galvão is one of ...

. The match went the distance and as the promotion did not use judges for their submission grappling matches at the time, it was declared a draw. De Ridder faced

Tye Ruotolo Tye Ruotolo (born January 22, 2003) is an American submission grappler. A competitor with his twin brother Kade since the age of 3, Ruotolo is currently the youngest IBJJF World champion at black belt level in the history of the sport. At th ...

in a submission grappling superfight at

ONE Fight Night 10 ''ONE Fight Night 10: Johnson vs. Moraes 3'' was a combat sport event produced by ONE Championship that took place on May 5, 2023, at the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado, United States. Background The event marked the promotion's first ...

on May 5, 2023. He lost the match by a close decision.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

De Ridder had his first amateur fight was in 2013, winning by first round submission, before making his professional MMA debut later that year, winning with a first round triangle choke. Reinier went on a seven fight winning streak with all the fights ending with stoppages. After this winning streak, Reinier got the opportunity to fight for his the Middleweight belt in HIT FC, which he won by first round rear-naked choke. After winning his next bout in under two minutes, Reinier got offers from the UFC and ONE FC, deciding to go with the latter due to better terms.

ONE Championship

De Ridder made his ONE debut at ONE: Hero's Ascent on January 25, 2019 against Fan Rong, in a fight which he won by a first round submission. He would then face Gilberto Galvao at ONE: Legendary Quest, knocking out Galvao in the second round with knees, and former title contender Leandro Ataides at ONE: Warrior's Code, in which he won a hard fought decision.

ONE Middleweight Champion

De Ridder faced

Aung La Nsang Aung La Maung Nsang (; born on May 21, 1985) is an American-Burmese mixed martial artist of Kachin people, Kachin descent. He is currently signed to ONE Championship, where he competes in both the Middleweight (MMA), middleweight and Light heavy ...

for the

ONE Middleweight World Championship This is a list of ONE Championship champions in each weight division of each sport. Current champions , Xiong Jing Nan , align=center , 2018 in ONE Championship#ONE Championship: Kings of Courage, January 20, 2018 , align=center , , align ...

at ONE: Inside the Matrix on October 30, 2020. He won the bout by submission in the first round, becoming the champion.

Double champion

After

Vitaly Bigdash Vitaly Bigdash (Russian: Виталий Бигдаш; born July 25, 1984) is a Russian mixed martial artist who competed in the Light heavyweight division of Absolute Championship Akhmat (ACA). Bigdash has also competed for ONE Championship and h ...

tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

, De Ridder stepped in for a rematch against

for the ONE Light Heavyweight World Championship at ONE on TNT 4 on April 28, 2021. He won the fight by unanimous decision to become the new ONE Light Heavyweight World Champion, and the third simultaneous two-division champion in ONE history. In the first middleweight title defense, De Ridder faced Kiamrian Abbasov at ONE: Full Circle on February 25, 2022. After applying an arm-triangle choke at the end of the second round that forced Abbasov to tap after the bell, De Ridder ultimately won with the same submission in the third round. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award. De Ridder faced former multiple-time ADCC and BJJ world champion

in a grappling match at ONE: X on March 26, 2022. They grappled to a draw after 12 minutes since neither could find the submission. De Ridder made his the second title defense against former champion

on July 22, 2022 at ONE 159. After surviving an early guillotine from Bigdash, Reiner choked him out with an inverted triangle choke in the first round. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award. De Ridder was scheduled to defend the middleweight title against Shamil Abdulaev at

ONE on Prime Video 3 ''ONE on Prime Video 3: Lineker vs. Andrade'' (also known as ''ONE Fight Night 3'') was a combat sport event produced by ONE Championship that took place on October 22, 2022 at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Background The event was ...

on October 22, 2022. However, Abdulaev withdrew due to not being medically cleared and the bout was cancelled. De Ridder faced Anatoly Malykhin to defend his light heavyweight title on December 3, 2022, at ONE on Prime Video 5. He suffered his first career loss after getting knocked out in the first round. A rematch between De Ridder and Malykhin for the

took place on March 1, 2024, at

ONE 166 ''ONE 166: Qatar'' was a combat sport event produced by ONE Championship that took place on March 1, 2024, at Lusail Sports Arena in Lusail, Qatar. Background This event marked the organization's debut in Qatar. It also the second visit to ...

. He lost the title via technical knockout in round three.

Post ONE

After parting with the promotion, De Ridder faced Magomedmurad Khasaev on July 27, 2024 at UAE Warriors 51. He won the fight via TKO in the first round.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

On September 24, 2024, it was announced that De Ridder had signed with the

. De Ridder faced

Gerald Meerschaert Gerald Edward Meerschaert III (born December 18, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he holds the record for most finishes i ...

on November 9, 2024 at UFC Fight Night 247. He won the fight via an arm-triangle choke submission in the third round. De Ridder faced

Kevin Holland Kevin Alan Holland (born November 5, 1992) is an American professional mixed martial artist and former kickboxer. He currently competes in the Welterweight and Middleweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional si ...

on January 18, 2025, at

UFC 311 ''UFC 311: Makhachev vs. Moicano'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on January 18, 2025, at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, United States. Background The event marked the prom ...

. He won the fight via a rear naked choke submission in the first round. De Ridder faced three-time NCAA Division I collegiate wrestling champion

Bo Nickal Bo Dean Nickal (born January 14, 1996) is an American professional mixed martial artist, former freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler who currently competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). ...

on May 3, 2025 at

UFC on ESPN 67 ''UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs. Figueiredo'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 67'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on May 3, 2025 at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa Des M ...

. He won via technical knockout in the second round due to a knee to the body, becoming the first fighter to beat the formerly undefeated Bo Nickal. This fight earned him his first UFC '' Performance of the Night'' award. De Ridder is scheduled to face former UFC Middleweight Champion Robert Whittaker in the main event on July 26, 2025 at

UFC on ABC 9 ''UFC on ABC: Whittaker vs. de Ridder'' (also known as ''UFC on ABC 9'') is an upcoming mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that will take place on July 26, 2025, at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab ...

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

** Performance of the Night (One time) *

(One time) ***Two successful defenses ** ONE Light Heavyweight World Championship (One time) ** Performance of the Night (Two times) **Submission of the Night **Fight of the Night **Third double champion in ONE history **2020: Submission of the Year **2022: Submission of the Year **2024: Ranked #3 Fight of the Year *HIT Fighting Championship **HIT Middleweight Championship (One time) *360 Promotion **360 Middleweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 20–2 ,

, TKO (knees) , UFC on ESPN: Sandhagen vs. Figueiredo , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:53 ,

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 19–2 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:31 ,

Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city had a population of 107,762. ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 18–2 ,

, Submission (arm-triangle choke) , UFC Fight Night: Magny vs. Prates , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:44 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 17–2 , Magomedmurad Khasaev , TKO (punches) , UAE Warriors 51 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:24 ,

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

, United Arab Emirates , , - , Loss , align=center, 16–2 , Anatoly Malykhin , TKO (retirement) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:16 ,

Lusail Lusail (, , ) is the second-largest city in Qatar after Doha, and the economic capital of Qatar, located on the coast, in the southern part of the municipality of Al Daayen. Lusail lies about north of the Doha city centre, just north of the West ...

, Qatar , , - , Loss , align=center, 16–1 , Anatoly Malykhin , KO (punches) , ONE on Prime Video 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:35 ,

Pasay Pasay, officially the City of Pasay (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 Philippine census, 2020 census, it has a ...

, Philippines , , - , Win , align=center, 16–0 ,

, Technical Submission (inverted triangle choke) , ONE 159 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:29 ,

Kallang Kallang ( ) is a Planning Areas of Singapore, planning area and New towns of Singapore, residential zone located in the Central Region, Singapore, Central Region of Singapore. Development of the town is centered around the Kallang River, the l ...

, Singapore , , - , Win , align=center, 15–0 , Kiamrian Abbasov , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , ONE: Full Circle , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:57 ,

, Singapore , , - , Win , align=center, 14–0 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , ONE on TNT 4 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Singapore , , - , Win , align=center, 13–0 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , ONE: Inside the Matrix , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:26 ,

, Singapore , , - , Win , align=center, 12–0 , Leandro Ataides , Decision (unanimous) , ONE: Warrior's Code , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

, Indonesia , , - , Win , align=center, 11–0 , Gilberto Galvão , KO (knees) , ONE: Legendary Quest , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:57 ,

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

, China , , - , Win , align=center, 10–0 , Fan Rong , Technical Submission (brabo choke) , ONE: Hero's Ascent , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:15 ,

, Philippines , , - , Win , align=center, 9–0 , Warren Allison , Submission (rear-naked choke) , EFC 67 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:00 ,

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

, South Africa , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , Shota Gvasalia , Submission (rear-naked choke) , HIT Fighting Championship 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:55 ,

Horgen Horgen () is a municipality in the district of Horgen in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. It is one of the larger towns along the south bank of the Lake of Zurich. On 1 January 2018 the former municipality of Hirzel merged into the mu ...

, Switzerland , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Jaouad Ikan , Submission (armbar) , World Fighting League MMA 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

Almere Almere () is a Planned community, planned List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Flevoland, Netherlands across the IJmeer fro ...

, Netherlands , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Lamine Talbi , Submission (rear-naked choke) , 360 Promotion: Volition , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:41 ,

Walloon Brabant Walloon Brabant ( ; ; ) is a province located in Belgium's French-speaking region of Wallonia. It borders on (clockwise from the North) the province of Flemish Brabant (Flemish Region) and the provinces of Liège, Namur and Hainaut. Walloon Br ...

, Belgium , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Markus Prödl , TKO (punches) , Superior FC 16 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:51 ,

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...

, Germany , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Alexander Heinrich , TKO (knees and punches) , Superior FC 15 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:52 ,

Rüsselsheim am Main Rüsselsheim am Main (, ) is the largest city in the Groß-Gerau district in the Rhein-Main region of Germany. It is one of seven special status cities (implementing several functions that counties normally provide) in Hessen and is located on t ...

, Germany , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Michaelis Efstratiou , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , Superior FC 14 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:32 ,

Düren Düren (; Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: Düre) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, between Aachen and Cologne, on the river Rur (river), Rur. History Roman era The area of Düren was part of Gallia Belgica, more specifically the ter ...

, Germany , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Rene Hoppe , Submission (armbar) , Rostocker & Benefiz: 2 in 1 Fight Night , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:54 ,

Rostock Rostock (; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Roztoc''), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (), is the largest city in the German States of Germany, state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the sta ...

, Germany , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Marco Wuest , Submission (triangle choke) , Gladiator FC 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:09 ,

Lauda-Königshofen Lauda-Königshofen () is a town in the Main-Tauber (district), Main-Tauber district in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the river Tauber, 7 km southeast of Tauberbischofsheim, and 30 km southwest of Würzburg. Most of the ...

, Germany , , -

Submission grappling record

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:80%; text-align:left;" ! Result ! style="text-align:center;", Rec. ! Opponent ! Method ! Event ! Division ! Date ! Location , - , Loss, , 0–1–1 , ,

, , Decision (unanimous) , ,

, , Middleweight , , May 5, 2023 , ,

Broomfield, Colorado Broomfield is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county located in the United States, U.S. Colorado, state of Colorado. It has a consolidated government which operates under Article XX, Sect ...

, United States , - , Draw, , 0–0–1 , ,

, , Draw (time limit) , , ONE: X, , Superfight, , March 26, 2022 , ,

, Singapore , -

References

Notes

External links

Reinier de Ridder
at

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ridder, Reinier de 1990 births Living people Dutch male mixed martial artists Middleweight mixed martial artists Light heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Mixed martial artists utilizing judo Dutch practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Dutch male judoka ONE Championship champions ONE Championship mixed martial artists Sportspeople from Breda Martial artists from North Brabant 21st-century Dutch sportsmen