Reinier de Ridder promised he wasn’t wasting any time after signing with the UFC and his co-main event against Bo Nickal on Saturday at UFC Des Moines could put him on the cusp of title contention with a win.
Already 2-0 in the organization, the former two-division ONE champion has a chance to knock off one of the brightest prospects in the sport, which could arguably do more for him than taking out a higher ranked opponent. While de Ridder knows he’s almost certainly not going to get a title shot with just one more win, he expects beating Nickal to put him on the short list of potential contenders who will eventually battle for the chance to face the winner of the upcoming fight between middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev.
“That’s what I’m thinking,” de Ridder told MMA Fighting about his title fight hopes. “Because a lot of guys at the top have already fought each other so yeah, who knows. If I can do this the right way, choke him out early, I think I have something to say at least.”
As a middleweight working his way up the rankings, de Ridder always had a vested interest in the title fight between du Plessis and Chimaev, which is still awaiting an actual date in 2025.
But more than just watching as a possible opponent for the winner down the road, de Ridder also spent time working with both du Plessis and Chimaev in the past so he’s got a little more knowledge on how this matchup might actually play out.
“I’ve had some experience with both of the guys. I’ve trained with both of them,” de Ridder said. “I’d say especially in a five round fight, Khamzat is most likely going to come out guns blazing again, shoot right away but Dricus is not that easy to take down. He moves very well, although it looks a bit funny at times. His footwork is not that bad. He gets out. He circles pretty well.
“I don’t see Khamzat taking him down right away and to be honest, I don’t see Khamzat choking him out in the first round.”
If Chimaev can’t get the early finish, de Ridder expects du Plessis to really take over with each passing minute in the fight.
“Every round he doesn’t choke him out is going to get worse for him,” de Ridder said about Chimaev. “Because with that unorthodox style of Dricus and those heavy hands, I think it might be a long night for Khamzat.”
Since first arriving in the UFC, du Plessis has continuously found ways to surprise his opponents despite not always employing the most traditional techniques.
As awkward as it looks at times, de Ridder believes that’s what makes du Plessis such a difficult matchup because it’s nearly impossible to predict what he’ll do next.
“He keeps going,” de Ridder said. “That’s the crazy thing. He looks dead tired, the technique [just goes out the door] but somehow he stays strong, stays very explosive. I’m going with Dricus but Khamzat would be cool, too, if it gets it. But I think Dricus has a good chance.”
Years before both of them were in the UFC, de Ridder actually spent time in the same regional organization as du Plessis but they never crossed paths. They eventually trained together and de Ridder has nothing but praise for the time he spent working with du Plessis but that won’t stop him from going after his UFC title.
“Dricus is a good dude, too, by the way,” de Ridder said. “Because of the language, I can understand what he says in Afrikaans. He’s pretty similar to his fighting style — all over the place, ADHD — but very nice, very friendly guy. I think that would be a very cool fight to get down the line.”
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