LAS VEGAS- Keep away from a specific Asian promotion.
Former ONE Championship two-division champion Reinier de Ridder scored an enormous win in his Final Preventing Championship (UFC) debut at UFC Vegas 100 final evening (Sat., Nov. 9, 2024) as he submitted Gerald Meerschaert within the third spherical after a wildly sloppy combat from contained in the UFC Apex in Las Vegas (watch highlights).
Previous to being one of many greatest free brokers in blended martial arts (MMA), De Ridder was a dominant champion in ONE Championship, a promotion the place he fought 9 instances from 2019 to 2024. Now that he’s now not with ONE Championship, he’s warning different fighters to avoid the Asia-based combat promotion.
“It’s been a nasty couple of years,” De Ridder advised the media throughout the UFC Vegas 100 post-fight press convention (watch right here). “The stress I’ve been put via, the stress my household was put via – even to get fights. It hasn’t been good. It’s laborious for me to speak dangerous as a result of I had a few good years in ONE as properly. At first, they handled me properly, however over the previous couple of years, it’s been actually dangerous. That is one thing I really feel I’ve to do for different fighters: Should you consider signing with ONE Championship – don’t. It’s that straightforward. You shouldn’t. There may be nothing there. There isn’t any fights. You’re simply mistaken for those who do it. Should you signal there, it’s a dangerous mistake.”
At first look, it could appear to be De Ridder could be salty, however he’s not mistaken. A number of MMA fighters are caught of their ONE Championship contracts and should not being supplied fights. These days, it looks as if ONE Championship is extra of a Muay Thai promotion that options some MMA fights than a MMA promotion.
Adriano Moraes, a former two-time champion, didn’t combat for 18 months after shedding to Demetrious Johnson as a result of the promotion merely didn’t guide him.
De Ridder just isn’t the one athlete to inform fighters to not signal with ONE Championship. One other former champion, Bibiano Fernandes, warned fighters to remain away after his contract expired.
Former UFC fighter Sage Northcutt was not too long ago reduce from ONE Championship. Whereas he’s too good to trash his former promotion, he absolutely has some dangerous tales, too.
For full UFC Vegas 100 outcomes, protection, and highlights click on HERE.
