Reinier de Ridder (20-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) is a seasoned veteran of fight sports activities. After holding the ONE Middleweight (205 lbs) and Gentle Heavyweight (225 lbs) Championships, he turned his consideration to MMA’s No. 1 group, the UFC.
Since shifting from Chatri Sityodtong’s promotion to Dana White’s firm, Reinier de Ridder, also referred to as RDR, hasn’t missed even a fraction of a step in his quest to change into one of many all-time greats on the planet of aggressive violence. From his UFC promotional debut on Nov. 9 of final yr to date, this man has been on one other stage.
Saturday night time, throughout the UFC’s first go to to the state of Iowa in near 1 / 4 of a century, Bo Nickal (7-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC), a 2022 graduate of Contender Sequence who needed to set foot within the UFC Apex’s Octagon twice earlier than securing his UFC contract, served as de Ridder’s opposition.
Within the run-up to UFC Des Moines over the weekend, the pairing of RDR, the No. 13 contender at middleweight, with Bo Nickal had many throughout the nation and world wide believing that it could be the latter’s hardest take a look at of his younger MMA profession. Anyone who turned on ESPN or streamed UFC Des Moines on ESPN+ stateside noticed fairly the present within the co-headlining affair.
Reinier de Ridder Brings Fireworks to UFC Des Moines Co-Essential Occasion
Though the co-main occasion between Reinier de Ridder and Bo Nickal was marketed as a three-round contest, the previous made sure that scorecards wouldn’t change into an element into the choice. In the course of the opening spherical of the bout, RDR put Nickal within the clinch and threatened a takedown, just for the latter to interrupt away.
A second clinch resulted in de Ridder touchdown a knee earlier than Nickal flipped the script and landed a takedown, securing high place on the bottom. Reinier de Ridder’s floor recreation proved powerful within the early going of the bout, reversing place to take high mount.
By the tip of spherical one, Reinier de Ridder amassed north of three minutes in floor management time, making it subsequent to unimaginable for Bo Nickal to get something going.
Reinier de Ridder Turns it Up in Spherical Two
Proper from the command to struggle within the second 5 minutes, RDR’s mission assertion was clear: Sustain the depth. de Ridder turned the aggressor within the second spherical, placing him within the clinch and scoring a knee to the physique.
All through the center interval, RDR landed quite a lot of strikes, punctuated by a number of knees to the physique, emptying his opponent’s gasoline tank. He linked on 10 of 11 knee strikes throughout spherical two, together with a devastating shot to place Bo Nickal down and out in a minute and 53 seconds.
Saturday’s win marked Reinier de Ridder’s fourth in a row since leaving ONE Championship’s lively roster in 2024. He’s not even six months faraway from his UFC debut and RDR has nearly opened the door of the top-10 at 185 lbs.
Reinier de Ridder Pockets $50,000 Bonus After Victory
Following the struggle on Saturday night time, Reinier de Ridder was interviewed by Michael Bisping on the telecast.
“I used to be simply going to say I’ve been spending a lot time within the US, I simply wished to examine if I’m nonetheless Dutch,” Reinier de Ridder started, referencing his end within the struggle, “so I attempted them knees and so they’re nonetheless working, so…” Not solely are de Ridder’s knees nonetheless a power to be reckoned with, they’re additionally the rationale why his pockets obtained heavier this previous weekend.
In the course of the post-fight press convention on Saturday, RDR was certainly one of 4 contestants to be awarded a $50,000 (USD) bonus for his efforts within the famed Octagon, securing the Efficiency of the Night time Award. It was de Ridder’s first bonus since getting into the UFC late final fall.
Last Ideas
The truth that Reinier de Ridder has been capable of go 3-for-3 within the UFC has been no shock. When RDR was signed by the UFC, the promotion knew full properly that they’d be getting a beast at middleweight.
Within the aftermath of de Ridder giving Bo Nickal his first profession defeat within the sport, one would anticipate for the competitors to get even harder for him in his subsequent struggle and future fights within the UFC. Provided that Reinier de Ridder already has two titles on his mantle, he’s acclimated to high-profile fights.
Whoever occurs to be arising subsequent for de Ridder, there’s one certainty: His opponent ought to instantly go into movie research as soon as the struggle is introduced. He’ll want each second he can afford to look again at tape of his previous fights to start to formulate a gameplan as a result of Reinier de Ridder is a difficult case to resolve.
