Andre Galvao (right) will face two-division MMA world champion Reinier de Ridder in ONE X this Saturday
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espite going up against a two-division World Champion renowned for his incredible groundwork, Andre Galvao is not the least bit intimidated by Reinier de Ridder’s reputation or his stature.
They will meet inside the cage to compete in submission grappling at ONE X, ONE Championship’s 10th anniversary event that will go down in Singapore Indoor Stadium this Saturday.
De Ridder, ONE Championship middleweight and light heavyweight mixed martial arts (MMA) world champion, will have a foot of height advantage against Galvao, but this doesn’t bother the Brazilian as he insists that in submission grappling, size doesn’t matter.
“I feel De Ridder utilizes his ground game to control all of his opponents, he likes to take his opponents down and dominate them,” Galvao explained.
“But I’m used to taking on bigger opponents, even though I’m 5’8” and he’s 6’4”, and he’s taller than me. We have the same weight, so it’s going to be an interesting match.”
“But I see myself actively attacking him and putting him in an uncomfortable position the whole match,” Galvao added.
Read also: Reinier de Ridder excited to ‘choke out’ BJJ legend Andre Galvao at historic ONE X
Galvao has plenty of reasons to feel confident ahead of their clash in ONE X, this Saturday at Singapore Indoor Stadium. The seven-time BJJ World Champion has the most astonishing grappling record, 160-29-1.
Aside from his insane grappling experience, the BJJ Legend claimed that his opponent’s size will eventually lead to his downfall in their matchup. Moreover, in preparation for their highly anticipated grappling match, Galvao claimed to have found several chinks in the armor of “The Dutch Knight.”
“I noticed that he exposed his back a lot, so I’ll go for that, or maybe I’ll find other ways to get the submission and close the space because he has very long limbs,” he explained. “He likes to work with arm-triangles, and D’arce [Chokes], because of his long limbs. He has a little bit of judo and a good stand-up, so it’s going to be interesting.
“But I’m confident that I will overcome this challenge. I’m well trained and I want to get that sub.”
ONE X will feature 20 bouts including five world title fights.
Watch ONE X on March 26 at watch.onefc.com and subscribe to ONE Championship on YouTube!
This article is published in collaboration with ONE Championship
