After signing the UFC, Reinier de Ridder has promised he has not wasted his time after a co-main event with Bo Nickal at UFC Des Moines.
Already 2-0 in the organization, the former two divisions one champion has the opportunity to knock off one of the brightest prospects in the sport. De Ridder knows he rarely wins a title shot in almost one win, but he hopes to beat Nickal and put him on a short list of potential contenders who will ultimately fight for a chance to face the winner of the fight between middleweight champions Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev.
“That’s what I’m thinking,” De Ridar told MMA he’ll fight for his title fight hopes. “A lot of the people at the top are already fighting each other, so yeah, who knows. If we can do this the right way, I think there’s at least something to say to you that choking him early.”
As a middleweight who ranks up, De Ridar has always had a vested interest in the title fight between Duplesis and Chimev.
However, De Ridder has spent time working on both Du Plessis and Chimaev in the past, so he has a little more knowledge of how this matchup actually plays out.
“I’ve had some experiences with both people. I trained with both of them,” De Ridder said. “Especially in the five-round battle, Cam That burns his gun again and shoots right away, but Doricus isn’t that easy.
“I haven’t seen Cam That put him down right away, so to be honest, I don’t see Cam That choking him in the first round.”
If Cimahev can’t get an early finish, de Ridar expects Duplesis to really take over every minute of the fight.
“Every round he doesn’t suffocate him will get worse for him,” De Ridar said of Chimeh. “With that unorthodox style of Doricus and those heavy hands, I think it might be a long night for Kamza.”
Since their first arrival at the UFC, Du Plessis has continuously found ways to surprise their enemies, despite not always using the most traditional techniques.
As we sometimes see, De Ridder believes it makes Du Plessis a very difficult matchup, as it is almost impossible to predict what will happen next.
“He’s going on,” De Ridar said. “It’s crazy. He looks tired. The technique (going out the door) but somehow he remains strong and very explosive.
A few years ago, when both of them were in the UFC, De Ridder actually spent time in the same local organization as Du Plessis, but they never crossed the road. They eventually train together, and De Ridder only praises the time he worked with Du Plessis, but that doesn’t stop him from chasing the UFC title.
“Dricus is also a good guy,” De Ridder said. “Because of the language, I can understand what he is saying in Afrikaans. He’s quite similar to his fighting style, ADHD everywhere, but he’s a very nice and very friendly guy.