Reinier de Ridder didn’t bother with the stigma surrounding BJJ when he first started.
After a trio of highlight reel victory over Gerald Meerschart, Kevin Holland and Beau Nikkal, “RDR” will face his toughest test this Saturday when he meets former middleweight champion Robert Whitaker in Abu Dhabi.
De Ridder has forced 14 enemies to either tap, nap or snap with his 20 career victory, establishing himself as one of the best BJJ practitioners in the sport of today.
“At the age of 16, the rest became more interesting. Girls, parties,” De Lidder said in a recent interview with former UFC and One World champion Demetris Johnson. I then moved to a new city and tried to find a judo gym, but instead went to the jiu-jitsu gym. Everyone says that jiu-jitsu is “gay”, but as soon as you see a good guy suffocating you it turns out to be extremely powerful. ”
“I started with Renzo Gracie Gym in the Netherlands, and from there my MMA journey started pretty early.”
Reinier de Ridder can move from top 15 to top 5 in a victory over Whittaker
Before making his UFC debut last year, “RDR” established himself as a horrifying force for MMA under one championship banner, winning both one middleweight and a lightweight heavyweight title.
He eventually lost both belts to Russian Juggernaut Anatoly Malikin before letting go of the promotion.
Currently, De Ridder is positioned as the No. 13th candidate in the UFC middleweight division. If he can snatch an unlikely victory over Robert Whitaker at Etihad Arina, he will surge into the top five and put him in prime position for a shot at the 185-pound crown.