Former ONE double champ Reinier de Ridder has exited the promotion, and will appear next under the UAE Warriors banner.
Holding both middleweight and light heavyweight gold simultaneously for ONE Championship, de Ridder was once a breakout star in the promotion. However, he appears to have made his exit after losing both belts to Anatoly Malykhin (coincidentally, de Ridder won both titles from Aung La N Sang).
Now, de Ridder is set to appear at UAE Warriors 51 in a light heavyweight match-up with Magomedmurad Khasaev on July 27, 2024. The card takes place at the Adnec Marina in Abu Dhabi.
A source familiar with the situation confirmed the booking to Cageside Press, following an initial report by MMA Fighting.
de Ridder (16-2) returns to action for the first time since those back-to-back losses to Malykhin, the second of which came in March of 2024. “The Dutch Knight” started his career on a 16-fight win streak, with victories over N Sang, Fan Rong, former middleweight champ Vitaly Bigdash, and others.
Magomedmurad Khasaev (6-1), like Reinier de Ridder, will be making his debut for UAE Warriors in the fight. His last two bouts likewise came under the ONE Championship banner, where he most recently suffered his first career defeat against Agilan Thani.
