Reinier de Ridder Makes His Case for Title Eliminator Fight Next
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The UFC has a new middleweight title contender. After a dominant showing in the co-main event of UFC Des Moines, No. 13-ranked Reinier de Ridder dismantled the highly touted All-American wrestler Bo Nickal.
De Ridder is quickly establishing himself as a force in the division. He has improved to 3-0 in the UFC—all by way of finishes. The Dutch standout continues to impress with each outing and now appears poised for a title eliminator against a top-five middleweight.
The Biggest Underdog
Reinier de Ridder cemented himself as a legitimate contender with a massive upset over arguably the sport’s top prospect. Many pundits believed the former ONE Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight Champion would struggle against Nickal’s elite wrestling pedigree—expecting his athleticism to be a difficult hurdle to overcome. But, De Ridder proved otherwise, effectively nullifying the talented wrestler’s grappling.
The opening round featured plenty of clinch work, with both men trading dominant positions against the cage. Even after Nickal secured an early takedown, de Ridder reversed and claimed top control. His pace and bodywork began to wear on the inexperienced prospect by the end of the round.
Nickal seemed visibly tired going into the second round. De Ridder, being the veteran he is, recognized his opponent’s fatigue and pressured forward. He returned to the clinch and landed a series of effective knees and punches to Nickal’s midsection. But Nickal had no answers for de Ridder’s clinch strikes. The veteran walked Nickal down, landing a gut-wrenching left knee to the body sending Nickal crashing to the canvas up against the cage.
After the fight, de Ridder made the most of this eye-catching performance by calling out No. 2-ranked Sean Strickland during his octagon interview with Michael Bisping.
De Ridder’s UFC Dominance
Following an ugly departure from ONE Championship, Reinier de Ridder made his UFC debut in November 2024. His first matchup in the promotion was against the gritty and versatile veteran Gerald Meerschaert. This was a hard-fought back-and-forth contest.
Meerschaert had his moments in this three-round bout, landing clean punches and reversing grappling positions on the ground. However, de Ridder’s sheer skills prevailed in the third round, where he secured an arm triangle choke from top mount. Meerschaert was a quality litmus test before throwing de Ridder to the division’s upper echelon.
De Ridder overcame his tough UFC debut and was given an intriguing stylistic matchup with the rangy striker and fan-favorite Kevin Holland. He passed this test with flying colors as he wasted no time taking Holland down. From there, he completely dominated the grappling, taking the back of Holland and quickly clinching a first-round rear naked choke.
Do you believe Reinier de Ridder deserves a title eliminator matchup next? Let us know in the comments below!
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