UFC Vancouver: Reinier de Ridder full 1-on-1 with Mike Bohn
UFC Fight Night 262’s Reinier de Ridder spoke to MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn ahead of Saturday’s matchup vs. Brendan Allen in Vancouver.
VANCOUVER – Reinier de Ridder hopes to find himself lined up for a title shot after UFC Fight Night 262.
Originally scheduled to face Anthony Hernandez in a middleweight bout that was tabbed as a potential No. 1 contender fight, De Ridder (21-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) will now meet Brendan Allen. The main event bout takes place at Rogers Arena on Saturday (ESPN+). It’s still a matchup between top 10 promotionally-ranked middleweights, but what comes next for the winner may not be as clear.
The division’s champion, Khamzat Chimaev, recently called for moving up to light heavyweight to face Alex Pereira in a champion vs. champion bout, an idea that hasn’t sat well with either headliner. Although as a fan of fighting, de Ridder couldn’t help but admit it would be an enjoyable one to observe.
“Well, to be honest, first thing I thought was, ‘Well, this is bullsh*t,'” de Ridder said. “But it is a cool matchup, huh? It is a cool matchup to see if Khamzat can get him down and stay safe. But I don’t see it happening. I get it.”
“… Everybody’s moving up. No, I don’t think that’s going to happen. I imagine if I do well this weekend, I’m able to put Brendan away, I’ll be fighting for the belt early 2026.”
Allen (25-7 MMA, 13-4 UFC) stands in de Ridder’s way of a potential title shot. De Ridder is currently on a five-fight winning streak, and coming off a win over former champion Robert Whittaker in July. Despite such a big win, Allen isn’t sold on de Ridder’s resume.
“He’s not expecting to win, I think – I don’t know,” de Ridder said with a laugh. “… He knows what I’m capable of. He’s seen my fights, he’s seen me in the gym. He knows what’s coming. I don’t think he’s overlooking me at all.”
UFC Hall of Famer Robbie Lawler has been a shared party in this matchup. The former champion has spent time working with both sides of the main event. Allen finds the situation “demoralizing,” but is keeping a positive outlook ahead of the fight. De Ridder doesn’t think there’s anything to read into it, as Lawler has worked with him at Kill Cliff FC, while Allen went to Chicago for his camp.
“I don’t know anything, I don’t believe in this stuff at all,” de Ridder said. “What’s the insight? What’s the insight I’m gonna get from somebody telling me, ‘Oh, in training he does this.’ It doesn’t matter at all. There’s so much tape on both of us. You can see every tendency we have in a fight. You can study both of us very well without anybody saying, ‘Oh, he did this.’ I’ve never worried about this at all. One of the guys who coaches him, his friend ‘Tuco,’ I trained a lot with that guy as well. I don’t mind it at all. Do whatever. I’m happy that we’re fighting. Both of us are making money. He gets a good opportunity, I get a good opportunity – let’s just see who’s the best fighter.”
