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Former rivals Reinier de Ridder and Aung La N Sang come together for training session
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Two-division MMA world champion Reinier de Ridder walks onto the stage as he faces Andre Galvao in a submission grappling match at ONE X.
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wo-division ONE world champion Reinier de Ridder took a vacation from his home in the Netherlands to travel to the USA and train against a former foe.
De Ridder, also known as “The Dutch Knight,” stopped in Florida to visit the acclaimed Sanford MMA, where he crossed paths with former ONE world champ Aung La N Sang.
The two legends hit the mats in a true testament to the spirit of martial arts.
The Dutch Knight won both his ONE middleweight and light heavyweight world titles by defeating Aung La N Sang, so seeing them train together was truly a spectacle.
The pair first met in the Circle in 2020, where De Ridder defeated Aung La N Sang via rear-naked choke in the first round.
Just six months later at “ONE on TNT 4,” the two faced off once again. This time, De Ridder moved up a weight class and challenged “The Burmese Python” for his ONE light heavyweight world championship. The Dutchman was successful once again, winning by unanimous decision.
Despite dominating his former rival on two occasions, The Dutch Knight has had nothing but compliments for Aung La N Sang.
“Hats off to this man. He has been a great champion and an icon in our sport. I believe he still has a lot of great fights ahead of him and hope to train together one day to share some of his knowledge,” De Ridder wrote on Instagram after their last meeting in April 2021.
Read also: ONE kickboxing champ Superbon continues impressive run in pursuit of GOAT status
Since his bouts against the former ONE World Champion, De Ridder has continued his success in the Circle.
He most recently defended his ONE Middleweight World Championship against Kiamrian Abbasov, defeating the Kyrgyz challenger via arm-triangle. Shortly after that, The Dutch Knight faced legendary Andre Galvao in a submission grappling bout.
While the battle ended in a draw, De Ridder made it clear that he’d like to be back in the Circle sooner rather than later.
“Had some fun grappling the legend that is Andre Galvao. I couldn’t get the finish, so it ended in a draw. Next is definitely MMA, and somebody is getting murdered,” he said.
Up next, catch ONE 156: Eersel vs. Sadikovic live on Vidio.com, Kaskus TV, NETVERSE or MAXstream beginning with the lead card at 4 p.m. western Indonesian time (WIB) this Friday, April 22.
The main card broadcasts live on Vidio.com, Kaskus TV, NETVERSE and MAXstream at 7:30 p.m. WIB. Also, NET TV will air a same-day delay at 10 p.m. WIB.
This article is published in collaboration with ONE Championship
