After being announced to have signed with the UFC just yesterday, an opponent has already been found for Reinier de Ridder’s Octagon debut.
The former two-weight world champion in ONE Championship comes in as the MMA leader’s latest major signing from another promotion.
After losing his titles in back-to-back fights with Anatoly Malykhin, de Ridder fought outside of ONE last time out where he stopped Magomedmurad Khasaev in the first round at UAE Warriors 51.
“The Dutch Knight” will now make his promotional debut on November 9 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
His opponent will be fellow middleweight submission specialist Gerald Meerschaert, who is a UFC veteran with 21 appearances inside the Octagon.
The news was first reported by UFC op Eurosport on Instagram.
With a staggering 41 submission victories between them, this looks to be a grappling fans delight but as you often get with match-ups like this, it could end up playing out on the feet if both men have too much respect for each other’s specialities.
Meerschaert comes into the fight after extending his submission wins record in back-to-back fights.
This year, he has secured the tap against both Edmen Shahbazyan and Bryan Barberena, to bounce back from consecutive losses.
The card on November 9 is yet to have a main event announced after the originally scheduled headliner between Brandon Moreno and Amir Albazi was brought forward one week.
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