Unfortunately, Chimaev will not be returning to mixed martial arts (MMA) until next year, which is why top contender, Reinier de Ridder, agreed to fight Anthony Hernandez Brendan Allen in the UFC Vancouver main event on Oct. 18 in Canada. It may also explain why White was reluctant to pull the trigger on this fight.
“I talked to the UFC,” De Ridder’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, told Submission Radio. “If Khamzat would have fought in October, it would have been Reinier de Ridder fighting Khamzat. But Khamzat said he is gonna fight next year. They offered ‘Fluffy’ [Hernandez]. De Ridder said, ‘You know what, I am not gonna wait.’ He takes this fight and now he is gonna fight a very tough fight.”
