Former ONE Championship two-division titleholder Reinier De Ridder is the UFC's latest notable signee, and he believes he's primed to take on the challenges within the promotion's highly competitive middleweight division.
"The Dutch Knight" dominated the ONE Championship middleweight and light heavyweight divisions from November 2020 until this past March. During his tenure, De Ridder initially rode high on the momentum of a seven-fight win streak.
However, his reign came to an abrupt end as he suffered consecutive defeats to Anatoly Malykhin, resulting in the loss of both titles. De Ridder boasts a professional MMA record of 17-2, with an impressive 11 of those victories coming by way of submission.
De Ridder is fresh off a first-round knockout victory against Magomedmurad Khasaev at UAE Warriors this past July, and the 34-year-old Dutchman is confident he can harness that momentum as he makes his entrance into the UFC.
De Ridder Sets Sights on Top-5 Rivals Following UFC Debut
During a recent interview with MMA Junkie, De Ridder revealed his aspirations for dream matchups within the UFC. "The Dutch Knight" expressed a strong desire to challenge himself against the reigning middleweight champion, Dricus Du Plessis, as well as former titleholders such as Robert Whittaker, Israel Adesanya, and Sean Strickland.
The grappling prodigy emphasized that he has no time to squander now that he’s joined the UFC, and he’s eager to take on high-profile opponents.
Right now. Let's go," De Ridder said. "I’m ready. That’s what I’m here for. It would be so cool to finally get a shot at those guys. They’ve been around for so long. I’ve been around for a little while now, as well, so it would be very cool to finally get a chance to fight those guys... Adesanya, Dricus, Strickland, all of them. Why not?
However, before "The Dutch Knight" can focus on his desired matchups, he must first conquer veteran Gerald Meerschaert in his promotional debut at a Fight Night event on November 9 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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