Top 5: Reinier de Ridder Submissions

Reinier de Ridder proved he had more than one ace up his sleeve.

“The Dutch Knight” retained his ONE Championship middleweight crown when he put Vitaly Bigdash to sleep with an inverted triangle choke in the first round of their ONE 159 headliner on July 22, 2022 at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore. Bigdash lost consciousness 3:29 into Round 1, having been submitted for the first time in his career.

De Ridder crowded the Russian from the outset, extricated himself from a tight guillotine choke and activated his ground-and-pound. He racked up damage and points with standing-to-ground punches, progressed to half guard and set off a scramble with an attempted kimura. Bigdash moved into top position but almost immediately wandered into the triangle. De Ridder cinched the choke from the bottom, tightened his squeeze and cut off blood flow to the brain.


As de Ridder approaches his latest Ultimate Fighting Championship assignment opposite Brendan Allen in the UFC Fight Night 262 main event this Saturday at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, his creative finish against Bigdash still ranks as one of his best submissions. Four more to consider:

Reinier de Ridder vs. Fan Rong

ONE Championship “Hero’s Ascent”
Jan. 25, 2019 | Manila
De Ridder announced his arrival in ONE Championship and his intention to thrive within its confines when he turned away the “King Kong Warrior” with a brabo choke in the first round of their brief encounter at the Mall of Asia Arena. Rong went limp 75 seconds into Round 1. The Chinese contender lashed out at de Ridder’s lower extremities with kicks but failed to managed distance properly and soon found himself pinned to the canvas by a superior grappler. His situation deteriorated in a hurry. De Ridder advanced from half guard to side control, flirted with a kimura and made a smooth transition to the D’Arce. Rong struggled to free himself, but the room soon went dark. The loss snapped his career-best 17-fight winning streak.

Reinier de Ridder vs. Aung La N Sang

ONE Championship “Inside the Matrix”
Oct. 30, 2020 | Kallang, Singapore
De Ridder laid claim to the undisputed ONE Championship middleweight title when he cast aside the Kill Cliff Fight Club standout with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their main event at Singapore Indoor Stadium. Aung La raised the white flag of surrender 3:26 into Round 1, suffering his first submission defeat in more than eight years. De Ridder executed an early takedown, advanced to the back and figure-foured the body with his long legs. From there, he stayed patient, pestered Sang with punches and waited for an opportunity to present itself. De Ridder snuck his arms in place when the Myanmar native stood, forced him back to the mat and transitioned from a face crank to the fight-ending choke. It ended Aung La’s remarkable 1,218-day reign atop the middleweight division.

Reinier de Ridder vs. Gerald Meerschaert

UFC Fight Night 247
Nov. 9, 2024 | Las Vegas
De Ridder shined in his long-awaited Octagon debut, as he disposed of the ex-Resurrection Fighting Alliance champion with an arm-triangle choke in the third round of their co-headliner at the UFC Apex. Meerschaert conceded defeat 1:44 into Round 3. De Ridder decked the Kill Cliff Fight Club export with a left hook at the end of a back-and-forth first round. Meerschaert answered in the middle stanza, where he freed himself from a three-quarter nelson, flurried with punches, moved into top position and integrated some ground-and-pound. However, fatigue took hold in Round 3. De Ridder delivered a takedown, shed a guillotine choke, scrambled into top position and climbed to full mount. From there, he framed the arm-triangle and let his considerable bite do the rest.

Reinier de Ridder vs. Kevin Holland

UFC 311
Jan. 18, 2025 | Inglewood, California
De Ridder dispatched the “Trailblazer” with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their middleweight appetizer at the Intuit Dome. Holland met his end 3:31 into Round 1, tapping out for the first time in almost three years. De Ridder delivered a takedown inside the first 10 seconds, escaped an attempted triangle choke from his counterpart and unloaded with ground-and-pound. A slashing elbow strike snuck through Holland’s defenses and opened a cut above his left eye. De Ridder eventually advanced to the back, secured his position with a body triangle and cinched the fight-ending choke. It was the 11th first-round finish of de Ridder’s career.