Reinier de Ridder

Reinier de Ridder (born September 7, 1990), also known by his initials RdR, is a Dutch professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He previously competed in ONE Championship, where he is a former ONE Middleweight World Champion and ONE Light Heavyweight World Champion. De Ridder was the third two-division champion in ONE history, having previously held the middleweight and light heavyweight belts simultaneously. As of August 22, 2026, he is #9 in the Meta UFC light heavyweight rankings.

Background Reinier de Ridder started with Judo 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. 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 in a submission grappling superfight at ONE Fight Night 10 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 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. He won the bout by submission in the first round, becoming the champion.

Double champion After Vitaly Bigdash tested positive for COVID-19, De Ridder stepped in for a rematch against Aung La Nsang 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 André Galvão 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 Vitaly Bigdash 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 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 ONE Middleweight World Championship took place on March 1, 2024, at ONE 166. 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 Ultimate Fighting Championship.

De Ridder faced Gerald Meerschaert 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 on January 18, 2025, at UFC 311. 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 on May 3, 2025 at UFC on ESPN 67. He won via technical knockout in the second round due to a knee to the body, becoming the first fighter to beat Nickal in mixed martial arts. This fight earned him his first UFC Performance of the Night award.

De Ridder faced former UFC Middleweight Champion Robert Whittaker in the main event on July 26, 2025 at UFC on ABC 9. He won the fight by split decision. 9 out of 16 media outlets scored the bout for De Ridder.

De Ridder was scheduled to face Anthony Hernandez in the main event of UFC Fight Night 262 on October 18, 2025. However, Hernandez was forced to withdraw from the bout due to an injury and was replaced by Brendan Allen. De Ridder lost the bout via technical knockout at the end of the fourth round, after he was unable to continue.

De Ridder faced Caio Borralho on March 7, 2026 at UFC 326. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.

Returning to light heavyweight, de Ridder faced Roman Dolidze on August 22, 2026 at UFC Fight Night 285. He won the fight via technical knockout in round one.

Championships and accomplishments Mixed martial arts Ultimate Fighting Championship Performance of the Night (One time) 2024: Ranked #3 Fight of the Year HIT Fighting Championship HIT Middleweight Championship (One time) 360 Promotion 360 Middleweight Championship (One time) MMA Fighting 2025 Second Team MMA All-Star

Mixed martial arts record Win

Roman Dolidze TKO (punches) UFC Fight Night: Hernandez vs. Rodrigues

Sacramento, California, United States Loss

Caio Borralho Decision (unanimous) UFC 326

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss

Brendan Allen TKO (corner stoppage) UFC Fight Night: de Ridder vs. Allen

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Win

Robert Whittaker Decision (split) UFC on ABC: Whittaker vs. de Ridder

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Win

Bo Nickal TKO (knee to the body) UFC on ESPN: Sandhagen vs. Figueiredo

Des Moines, Iowa, United States Win

Kevin Holland Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 311

Inglewood, California, United States Win

Gerald Meerschaert Submission (arm-triangle choke) UFC Fight Night: Magny vs. Prates

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Magomedmurad Khasaev TKO (punches) UAE Warriors 51

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Loss

Anatoly Malykhin TKO (retirement) ONE 166

Lusail, Qatar Loss

Anatoly Malykhin KO (punches) ONE on Prime Video 5

Pasay, Philippines Win

Vitaly Bigdash Technical Submission (inverted triangle choke) ONE 159

Kallang, Singapore Win

Kiamrian Abbasov Submission (arm-triangle choke) ONE: Full Circle

Kallang, Singapore Win

Aung La Nsang Decision (unanimous) ONE on TNT 4

Kallang, Singapore Win

Aung La Nsang Submission (rear-naked choke) ONE: Inside the Matrix

Kallang, Singapore Win

Leandro Ataides Decision (unanimous) ONE: Warrior's Code

Jakarta, Indonesia Win

Gilberto Galvão KO (knees) ONE: Legendary Quest

Shanghai, China Win

Fan Rong Technical Submission (brabo choke) ONE: Hero's Ascent

Pasay, Philippines Win

Warren Allison Submission (rear-naked choke) EFC Worldwide 67

Johannesburg, South Africa Win

Shota Gvasalia Submission (rear-naked choke) HIT-FC 4

Horgen, Switzerland Win

Jaouad Ikan Submission (armbar) World Fighting League MMA 1

Almere, Netherlands Win

Lamine Talbi Submission (rear-naked choke) 360 Promotion: Volition

Walloon Brabant, Belgium Win

Markus Prödl TKO (punches) Superior FC 16

Darmstadt, Germany Win

Alexander Heinrich TKO (knees and punches) Superior FC 15

Rüsselsheim am Main, Germany Win

Michaelis Efstratiou Submission (arm-triangle choke) Superior FC 14

Düren, Germany Win

Rene Hoppe Submission (armbar) Rostocker & Benefiz: 2 in 1 Fight Night

Rostock, Germany Win

Marco Wuest Submission (triangle choke) Gladiator FC 2

Lauda-Königshofen, Germany

Submission grappling record Result

Opponent Method Event Division Date Location