Former two-division ONE Championship titleholder Reiner De Ridder recently signed with UFC and is happy with his new family.
Prior to his move, Ridder had been shelved since 2023, with only one fight booked in 2024. Since his transition, the fighter has been eager to get on an active schedule and show his skill set. He has his first UFC debut on Saturday against grappler Gerald Meerschaert at UFC Vegas 100.
Ridder is happy with this new development and is focused on a couple of opponents he would like to face in the cage.
“Finally, after all these years of talking about the top guys, to finally be close to getting them is very cool,” de Ridder told MMA Junkie at Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 247 media day. “The most important this is Gerald first. It’s a very cool matchup. It’s cool that it’s here. … Let’s see what I can do.”
“That’s one of the major plusses [signing with UFC],” de Ridder told MMA Fighting. “I even started calling out heavyweights [in ONE Championship] because there were no fights. I’m not making that mistake again. Hopefully, I’m going to make it a beautiful year.
“It’s crazy. For some reason, the stars seem to be aligning. Now I just need to knock it out of the park.”
“Hopefully, after this, I’m looking to make a statement in this fight, announce my joining the UFC with a nice performance, and then hopefully, I’ll get a crack at some top-level guys,” de Ridder said. “There’s so many good guys.
“Like [Sean] Strickland, like [Israel] Adesanya, Dricus [du Plessis], we have some history. I fought in the same organization he did. Didn’t get a chance to fight him at that point so hopefully it’s going to be on the biggest stage this time. But even like the entire top 10 are full of killers. There’s a lot of guys that have seen some inactivity. Line them up.”
Top of Ridder’s list in Bo Nickal. The fighter said he will be watching Nickal at his UFC 309 bout, who is set to face Paul Craig. Bo Nickal is a multi-time NCAA champion wrestler who will be making his fourth appearance in the octagon.
Nickal is considered an expert grappler, and his skillset and strategy have caught the eye of Ridder, who plans to be ready to step in on short notice.
Khamzat [Chimaev] and Bo Nickal would both be amazing,” de Ridder said. “[Bo Nickal] might be a nice next step. So maybe we do something to Paul Craig, distract him a little bit, and jump in?
“That’s a fun one, right? I’m down for that. So Paul Craig, take a hike.”
The fighter believes his move to the UFC has opened him up to a new world of opponents, but first, he has to get through his match with Meerschaert on Saturday.
“I was pretty familiar [with Gerald] because I’ve been training with him for a little bit,” de Ridder revealed. And, I know what he brings to the table.
“I was planning to spend my camp in Miami with Henri [Hooft] and the guys [at Kill Cliff FC] but then when I got the name, I had to send Henri a text that he might be the wrong corner again.”
“I need to [take this fight down to the canvas],” de Ridder explained. “Yes, I need to represent jiu-jitsu, so I’m going to try and hit him with some good shots, but it’s going to go to the ground 100 percent.”
“A win is not enough – the top dogs finished Gerald, and I want to prove I’m one of them,” de Ridder said. “To be honest, if I can ever get close to one of the records he holds, it would be amazing. So cool to see him fight. I’ve always watched his fights, and that’s a great thing for this fight as well. There’s so much tape to study. He has so many fights. He has a really difficult style.
“The ways he finishes fights, there’s a few things he’s very dangerous at, there’s a few things he does that I think I can really capitalize as well. But it’s a great matchup. I’m very happy that they’ve given me him for my first fight because he’s a veteran, he’s a real name, and I think if I can put a stamp on this one, I have some leverage to start calling out some bigger names.”
It’s been a long time coming for Ridder, and he is excited to enter the octagon and show the promotion what he’s made of.
