Nicknamed The Dutch Knight, Reinier de Ridder is a professional mixed martial artist and physiotherapist from Breda, North Brabant, Netherlands. He stands 6’4″ and competes in the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions.

As a physiotherapist, de Ridder works at De Ridder & Honcoop Fysiotherapie in Breda, which he co-owns with his girlfriend Siga Honcoop. The two have two children together.

Aside from MMA, de Ridder also enjoys sailing and diving. From 2013 to 2020, he competed as a professional MMA fighter with no loss in Gladiators Fighting Championship, German King Cup, Superior Fighting Championship, 360 Promotion, World Fighting League MMA, Hit Fighting Championship, Extreme Fighting Championship and ONE Championship.

De Ridder trains at Combat Brothers in Breda, in which he is a co-owner and a coach, and is a protégé of Hessel Duijts. Here are 13 things about the Dutch MMA fighter and physiotherapist:

1. Born in the Netherlands, he is an only child. His father is a taxi driver while his mother is a civil servant. He grew up in Tilburg, Netherlands. From there, he moved to Breda to study physiotherapy. He studied physiotherapy at Avans University of Applied Sciences in Breda, did his graduation internship at PMC Heksenwiel in Breda and studied manual therapy at Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Brussels, Belgium.
2. In 1995, he started his training in judo.
3. In 2004, his parents divorced. He stayed with both parents two weeks at a time, which affected him negatively.
4. In 2008, he left home and started living independently.
5. In 2009, he started his training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He went on to become an Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship medalist.
6. In 2012, he worked at Bonfysiotherapie Bonaire in Bonaire, Netherlands.
7. As an amateur MMA fighter, he competed in the light heavyweight division. On March 16, 2013, he submitted Ali Saleh of Iran at “Staredown 7” at Deurne Expo Hall in Deurne, Antwerp, Belgium. On June 1, 2013, he made his professional MMA debut at “Gladiators Fighting Championship 2” at Tauber-Franken-Halle in Lauda-Konigshofen, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany. He submitted Marco West of Mannheim, Germany via triangle choke.
8. He did not have a professional MMA fight in 2014. When he returned on October 10, 2015, he submitted Rene Hoppe at “Rostocker and Benefix Fight Night: 2 in 1 Fight Night” at the Allround Arena in Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.
9. On October 29, 2016, he knocked out Alexander Heinrich at “Superior FC 15” at the Ruesselsheim Sports Hall in Ruesselsheim Am Main, Hesse, Germany.
10. On January 25, 2019, he made his ONE Championship debut at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines where he submitted Fan Rong of China. On June 15, 2019, he earned his second ONE Championship win in Shanghai, China where he knocked out Gilberto Galvao of Brazil.
11. He earned his third ONE Championship win on February 7, 2020 by defeating Leandro Ataides of Brazil via unanimous decision at the Istora Senayan in Jakarta, Indonesia, which marked the first time he won a professional MMA fight via decision. On October 30, 2020, he became the new ONE Middleweight World Champion by dethroning then champion Aung La N Sang of Myanmar in Singapore.
12. He was 30 years old when he became a two-division MMA world champion. On April 28, 2021, he dethroned Aung, who was the then reigning ONE Light Heavyweight World Champion.
13. He successfully defended his ONE Middleweight World Championship title from Kiamrian Abbasov of Kygyzstan at “ONE: Full Circle” in Singapore on February 25, 2022 and from Vitaly Bigdash of Russia at “ONE 159” in Singapore on July 22, 2022.