VANCOUVER, British Columbia — It’s still anyone’s guess as to what it will take to defeat Khamzat Chimaev, but Reinier de Ridder may hold the key to victory. The former two-division ONE Championship champion would like to believe so, anyway.
Calling de Ridder’s run to the top of the UFC middleweight division “unexpected” could be considered an injustice. He very clearly always had the talent, and he proved it throughout his entire 19-fight career prior.
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Now with 21-2 record, the issue in hindsight seemed to be that any hype completely cooled off, thanks to his unceremonious end in ONE Championship. The lone TKO win in UAE Warriors that followed was enough for de Ridder to sign with his current fighting home, and he could already be next to challenge the undefeated Chimaev. That’s if he gets past Brendan Allen in UFC Vancouver’s main event Saturday.
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De Ridder’s notoriously strong grappling chops have set him apart in his career. Pair that with some continuously unorthodox Dutch kickboxing, and he presents arguably the most unique skill set Chimaev could face.
Knowing as much, de Ridder now feels significantly more weight to prove himself as Chimaev’s kryptonite than he did a year ago.
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“There’s a lot of pressure on my shoulders here,” de Ridder told Uncrowned. “I was very impressed with what [Chimaev] did in that ‘DDP’ [Dricus du Plessis] fight. He was so dominant, so fully in control, it was crazy to see. And yes, he could have done more, but he was just very keen on getting the win and not risking it at all. And he’s kind of right, ‘DDP’ could have made it a more enticing, more exciting fight as well. He could have tried harder to get up. He could have risked more getting up. So it’s on both of them that it wasn’t the most fun fight to see.
“I do believe that my style is a perfect fit for what he brings to the table. I hope we get to see it sometime soon.”
Reinier de Ridder has fastracked his way to the top of the UFC middleweight division.
(Chris Unger via Getty Images)
To get the matchup, de Ridder has to first defeat the aforementioned Allen, who wasn’t originally on the Dutchman’s radar. It just so happened that an untimely withdrawal by de Ridder’s initial opponent, Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez, opened the door for an opportunity that Allen has capitalized on.
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Allen was on a very strong seven-fight stretch of his own until he ran into top contenders Nassourdine Imavov and Hernandez. A rebound win over Marvin Vettori in July made Allen a solid replacement candidate, and one who’s always game. That’s how de Ridder views his new challenge, even as he remains the -210 betting favorite per BetMGM.
“Every fight is a risk,” de Ridder said. “When I fight for the title, it’s a risk as well. I’m just happy that Brendan stepped up. He took the fight, and I was able to remain on the card. ‘Fluffy’ would have been very cool as well. I think he’s like a Khamzat light, very similar style. But I’m happy that Brendan took it and I’m just down to prove once again that I’m the No. 1.”
Before de Ridder brought himself to global acclaim with his UFC dominance, he choked his way through Asia and most notably did so against ONE legend Aung La N Sang. If dethroning a rival by taking one of their titles isn’t enough, de Ridder took two from N Sang.
As fate would have it, the two former ONE titleholders are now friends and teammates, training out of KillCliff FC in Florida. They’ve gotten so close since their fights that N Sang even cornered de Ridder for his last victory against Robert Whittaker in July.
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With N Sang having recently won his retirement fight against Zebaztian Kadestam, he didn’t make the trip out to Vancouver, but he’s here in spirit, inspiring his rival-turned-friend. In hindsight, the passing of the torch moment is still funny and somewhat bittersweet.
“People in the gym always tease him with it, and they always tease me with it,” de Ridder said. “But yeah, it is what it is. It was my time, and it was just at that point, I was the guy who was going to take it from him. It is what it is. Neither of us really care at the moment, but yeah.
“I was very worried for him, to be honest. Kadestam, in his last fight, just manhandled [Roberto] Soldic. Soldic wasn’t even in the fight. And he’s very dangerous with elbows, knees. He has a very complete striking game, Kadestam. And we know Aung is not gonna take him down or whatever. I was, to be honest, pretty worried. But he looked amazing, dude. He did so well. Very, very cool to see.”
Ideally, de Ridder hopes the steps he’s taking now will help build his own legend similar to N Sang in his native Myanmar. The Netherlands has a rich combat sports history as is, but the submission wizard is carving a path to the top of the pack.
How can de Ridder claim the throne as the Dutch GOAT? As he sees it, the answer is simple.
“Get the belt,” he said.
