ONE Championship: Reinier De Ridder says he would ‘squeeze Israel Adesanya’s head off’ – and thinks Gegard Mousasi would beat UFC champ in a kick-boxing match
- ONE middleweight king believes he would beat his UFC counterpart – and that Bellator champ Mousasi would, too
- The Dutch pair trained together for their recent title defences. ‘He teaches me so much,’ De Ridder says
UFC champion Israel Adesanya is widely considered the best middleweight fighter on the planet, but ONE Championship middleweight king Reinier de Ridder begs to differ.
“I’m very confident that I would squeeze his head off,” the Dutchman, who also holds ONE’s light heavyweight title, told the Post this week.
De Ridder (15-0) was back in action at ONE: Full Circle last Friday in Singapore, where he defended his middleweight title with a third-round submission victory against the welterweight champ Kiamrian Abbasov.
Less than 24 hours later, the 31-year-old’s training partner and fellow Dutchman Gegard Mousasi, 36, defended the Bellator middleweight title with a first-round TKO of formerly unbeaten Austin Vanderford in Dublin, Ireland.
“Man, the guy’s a legend.” De Ridder said of Mousasi. “He’s been in the game for 20 years. I think he’s had like 49 pro wins, 36 first-round finishes. You’ve gotta give it up for the guy.
“They all come in – an undefeated guy – they all talk a lot of smack, but Gegard walks in, looks like he just woke up, and he beats all these guys. And he beats them decisively. What a beast, what a monster.”
After watching Mousasi (49-7-2) clobber Vanderford, De Ridder also favours the Bellator champ to beat Adesanya (22-1) – whether it’s in an MMA cage or in the kick-boxing ring, where the UFC champ’s career began.