Reinier de Ridder Not Too Excited About Trilogy Bout with Aung La N Sang

ParallelDesk 12:53:27 PM, 27 April 2023

"Willem V vertoont zich als Ridder in de Orde van de Kouseband op het bordes van Huis ten Bosch, 1752, Reinier Vinkeles, 1788" by Reinier Vinkeles is marked with CC0 1.0. To view the terms, visit https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/.
Image shown for representational purpose only.

On May 5th, Dutch mixed martial artist Reinier de Ridder will be stepping away from his usual sport to compete in a submission grappling superfight with 20-year-old Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu prodigy Tye Ruotolo. While this isn't a new challenge for de Ridder, as he's participated in grappling tournaments in the past, the event marks his first appearance in a ONE Championship grappling match. Despite his scheduled grappling match, de Ridder's name has been circulating in the mixed martial arts (MMA) community. The reigning ONE middleweight world champion is expected to defend his title before the year is over, and the potential opponents for his next fight have been a topic of discussion. One name that has come up is Aung La N Sang. The two fighters are already familiar with each other. de Ridder is known for his back-to-back world championship victories over Aung La in 2020 and 2021. Ahead of his scheduled grappling match, de Ridder spoke with The MMA Superfan about the possibility of fighting Aung La N Sang for a third time. "I don't know, it's a bit of a hard one. I really like the guy, by the way," de Ridder said. "I've been there, I trained with him. I would be happy with him if he'll get another shot at the title. But yeah, I don't know. I can't say right now." Although de Ridder isn't excited about facing Aung La again, it's a possibility that could become a reality depending on the outcome of Aung La's next fight. The Burmese fighter is set to face off against Fan Rong at the ONE Fight Night 10 on May 5th, the same event where de Ridder will be competing in his grappling match. If Aung La manages to secure another win, a third meeting with de Ridder could be on the horizon. It's a storyline that MMA fans are familiar with, and it has the potential to lead to another compelling fight. Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America will have the chance to watch ONE Fight Night 10 live on May 5th, for free, during US primetime, to see if Aung La will continue his winning streak and if de Ridder can succeed in his first-ever ONE grappling match.