Fighters on the Rise | UFC Des Moines

One of last year’s high-profile additions to the roster, de Ridder has kicked off his UFC tenure with a pair of submission wins.

The 34-year-old posted a hard-fought, third-round finish of Gerald Meerschaert in his promotional debut in November, then returned earlier this year to make relatively quick work of Kevin Holland at UFC 311. The victories elevated his record to 19-2 overall with 17 finishes, the vast majority of which are submissions, and the efficiency of his win over Holland was a real statement effort after his tougher than most anticipated battle against “GM3” in his debut.

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In an age of generalists, de Ridder remains a specialist whose intentions are always clear from the jump. While he can certainly hold his own on the feet, the veteran from Holland wants to close the distance, drag you to the canvas, and find a choke of some sort. And to this point, he’s been largely successful at doing just that.

This weekend, he’ll stand opposite Bo Nickal, the unbeaten former D1 National champion wrestler from Penn State, who has successfully navigated his first four UFC assignments to land on the doorstep of the Top 15. The stylistic clash between the Dutch submission ace and the elite American wrestler is part of what makes this matchup fascinating, but it’s also a great chance to get a better read on where de Ridder fits within the divisional hierarchy at the moment.

That may sound weird to some — suggesting that a former two-weight champion from a different promotion will be measured against an ascending, but significantly less experienced foe — but Nickal has handled his first four matchups with relative ease, and getting by the undefeated rising star would speak volumes about de Ridder’s standing as a dark horse in the division and potential contender. 

On paper, someone like Nickal should be the sternest test for the Dutchman, and if de Ridder can impose his game plan and be the first to hand the All-American a loss, it will thrust him into the spotlight and catapult him to even greater opportunities in the second half of the year. 

Montel Jackson

In a division where Mario Bautista, Marcus McGhee, and Aiemann Zahabi have won seven, six, and five consecutive bouts respectively, Jackson might be the biggest dark horse in the bantamweight ranks. 

The 33-year-old Milwaukee native and member of the DWCS Class of ’18 enters Saturday’s matchup with Daniel Marcos on a five-fight winning streak and coming off consecutive first-round knockout wins over Rani Yahya and Da’Mon Blackshear. Overall, “Quik” is 8-2 in the UFC and 7-1 since dropping his “thrown into the deep end” debut to Ricky Simon back at UFC 227, with Welsh veteran Brett Johns standing as the only other man to best Jackson to this point.

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Incredibly soft-spoken and spotlight averse, Jackson has grown into a nightmare matchup for those looking to advance in the division or anyone tasked with standing opposite him, as he has strong wrestling, a slick submission game, and developing power, as shown in his one-shot, 18-second win over Blackshear last summer in Denver. He’s gone the distance a handful of times without issue as well, and profiles as someone that could potentially advance further up the divisional ranks with a little more activity and the right opportunities. 

Saturday’s matchup with Marcos is another strong litmus test, for each man, honestly, as the Peruvian is undefeated in 18 career starts, having gone 4-0 with one no contest since earning his place on the roster with a unanimous decision win over Brandon Lewis on Season 6 of Dana White’s Contender Series. Last time out, the 32-year-old Marcos earned a split decision win over Adrian Yanez, inching him closer to cracking the rankings.

Jackson is in a challenging position, as a sixth consecutive victory this weekend would merit an additional step up in competition, and there are names ahead of him in the rankings that would make sense for him to call out, but he’s just not that guy. And because he’s only fought once per year in each of the last three years, whatever momentum he builds with each win tends to dissipate before he’s able to capitalize on it.

But bouncing Marcos from the ranks of the unbeaten would be another feather in his cap, and, at some point, we should see Jackson face another ranked bantamweight. Should that come to pass later this year, don’t be surprised if the quiet man from “Cream City” continues to work his way forward in the 135-pound ranks.

Azamat Bekoev

For the first time in several years, the middleweight division is flush with new names making a push towards the rankings,, with Bekoev standing as one of the more interesting newcomers to enter the fray.

The 29-year-old Russian, who faces recent TUF winner Ryan Loder on Saturday, really put himself on the radar by winning the interim LFA middleweight belt and then successfully unifying and defending the undisputed title with a second-round knockout win over Chauncey Foxworth last June. He signed with the UFC and made his promotional debut in January, knocking out Zach Reese with hellacious ground-and-pound from inside his guard early in the night at UFC 311 in Los Angeles.

Now riding a seven-fight winning streak, the American Top Team representative profiles as the type of competitor that could slowly work his way up the divisional ladder, as he’s well-rounded, trains with a great team, and has exhibited both finishing skills and the ability to go the championship distance on his way to reaching the UFC.

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Saturday’s matchup with Loder is a solid sophomore challenge for the emerging prospect — a date with a standout wrestler coming off a dominant showing in his TUF-winning bout against Robert Valentin who also trains with an elite crew (Team Alpha Male) and has flashed many of the same attributes that make Bekoev a person of interest in the 185-pound ranks. 

How Bekoev looks this weekend should be instructive in regards to where he stands in the division at the moment and what is reasonable to project for him over the next 12-18 months. It’s a great measuring stick fight, and one that will tell us a great deal about the promising middleweight.