ONE star Reinier de Ridder leaves promotion, set for UAE Warriors debut

Former ONE two-division champion Reinier de Ridder has left the promotion after a long, decorated tenure.

MMA Fighting was among the first to confirm the news of De Ridder’s ONE departure. The exact reasoning behind his parting ways from the promotion is uncertain as of this writing.

However, De Ridder won’t be sidelined long after parting ways with ONE. He signed a contract with UAE Warriors and will make his promotional debut on July 27 in Abu Dhabi.

De Ridder will face Magomedmurad Khasaev at UAE Warriors 51 in a light heavyweight bout. The card is headlined by Kevin Oumar vs. Mohamed Juma.

Reinier de Ridder embarks on new MMA chapter

De Ridder is looking to get back on track after back-to-back losses to conclude his ONE tenure. He most recently lost the ONE middleweight title to Anatoly Malykhin at ONE 166 in March.

Before the most recent loss to Malykhin, De Ridder lost his light heavyweight title to Malykhin in December 2022. It was the first loss of his professional MMA career after 16 consecutive victories.

While the exact terms of De Ridder’s UAE Warriors deal aren’t known at this time, he’s expected to be on the radar of the UFC, PFL, and Bellator moving forward. He’s widely regarded as one of the top fighters in the world outside of the UFC.

De Ridder made his ONE debut in January 2019, earning a first-round submission over Fan Rong. He went on to win fights over Leandro Ataides and Gilberto Galvao before back-to-back title wins over Aung La Nsang.

De Ridder’s ONE middleweight title reign featured successful title defenses against Kiamrian Abbasov and Vitaly Bigdash. 14 of De Ridder’s 16 career wins have come via stoppage.

De Ridder will face a tough test in Khasaev, another former ONE standout. Khasaev is also making his UAE Warriors debut and returns after a nearly full-year hiatus.