Reinier De Ridder Is On A Mission

It took no time at all for De Ridder to get settled, dropping “GM3” in the first round. After a grapple-heavy second round, De Ridder entered the final frame realizing he had the advantage on the mat. Less than a minute into the round, De Ridder took Meerschaert down with a trip. A minute and a few transitions later, he was in mount, locking in an arm-triangle choke and forcing the tap from the UFC veteran.

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The win earned him a massive spotlight: the main card opener at UFC 311: Makhachev vs Moicano against fan-favorite Kevin Holland. While not quite as fast as UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev when he fought “Trailblazer” at UFC 279, De Ridder shot for a takedown just three seconds into the first round and was in complete control. 

After two minutes of ground and pound, De Ridder took Holland’s back and began working for a submission. Just moments later, he sunk in a rear-naked choke, forcing another tap to make it two wins in three months.

In May, De Ridder received an intriguing matchup against middleweight prospect Bo Nickal. While De Ridder had previously dominated opponents on the mat, a clash with a Division I wrestler presented a great opportunity to showcase his striking.

Rarely, however, was he afforded that opportunity. De Ridder and Nickal engaged in plenty of clinch work, with some grappling exchanges closing out the first round. The second round followed a similar pattern, with the two locked up in the center of the Octagon.

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De Ridder started opening up with short shots inside the clinch, and they started to add up quickly. Mixing short punches with devastating knees to the body, De Ridder visibly hurt Nickal. 

Pressed against the side of the Octagon, Nickal started swinging for the fences, but De Ridder evaded and picked his shots wisely before finding the finishing blow. As soon as Nickal squared up, De Ridder blasted a knee to the body that crippled and dropped Nickal to a knee, forcing the referee to step in.

In just six months, De Ridder finished a UFC veteran, a fan favorite and a rising star, all with relative ease. His success earned him an opportunity to challenge former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker in the main event at UFC Abu Dhabi in July.

As expected, this would be De Ridder’s toughest test to date, but one that provided invaluable experience for a fighter vying for a title shot. It was back and forth from start to finish, with De Ridder having to overcome a near fight-ending blow from “The Reaper” that dropped him in the third round.

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By the eye test, the fight was close, but the numbers told a clearer story: De Ridder had the edge in all areas. While he only narrowly out-landed Whittaker 67–66 in significant strikes, De Ridder outstruck the former champ 192–70 overall, scored two takedowns to zero and amassed over nine minutes of control time.

In the end, two judges scored the bout for De Ridder, improving his UFC record to 4-0, all within an eight-month stretch. He now gets his second main event call this Saturday at UFC Vancouver.

De Ridder was originally scheduled to face the red-hot Anthony Hernandez, but “Fluffy” was forced out of the bout with an injury. In steps Top 10 ranked contender Brendan Allen, who’s coming off a win over former title challenger Marvin Vettori this past summer.

While Nassourdine Imavov picked up a massive win over Caio Borralho last month in Paris, De Ridder remains on the cusp of title contention, and a statement win over Allen could very well earn him a ticket to face Chimaev next.