UFC Abu Dhabi headliner Reinier de Ridder had to overcome an imposing two-division champ for his first taste of world championship glory.
De Ridder is currently in pursuit of the UFC middleweight title after signing with MMA’s leading promotion in 2024. He’s gotten off to a strong start, winning all three of his Octagon appearances to date.
Next on his rise toward the top is Saturday’s main event in the Middle East, which will see De Ridder face former champion Robert Whittaker.
A victory would do plenty to advance the chances of ‘The Dutch Knight’ sharing the cage with the 185-pound king in the future. And when it comes to unseating imposing titleholders, De Ridder does not lack experience.
Reinier de Ridder choked out two-division king Aung La N Sang at ONE: Inside the Matrix
De Ridder left ONE Championship on bad terms before joining the UFC, but he still may look back fondly on some parts of his tenure with the Asian organization.
Most notable were the two title crownings that transformed the 34-year-old from an unbeaten prospect into an intimidating double champion at 205 (middleweight) and 225 (light heavyweight) pounds. And both results had the same victim.
Before De Ridder’s ascent, Aung La N Sang reigned over both weight classes. Heading into ONE: Inside the Matrix in 2020, the Kill Cliff FC-trained veteran had already successfully defended the 205-pound belt three times and the light heavyweight title once.
But his dominant champ-champ rule came to an end in emphatic fashion when Aung La fell via submission to De Ridder less than four minutes into their main event in Kallang, Singapore.
The Burmese star was able to avoid the same fate in their rematch, but he was still unable to keep hold of the ONE title that was on the line. De Ridder also took Aung La’s light heavyweight strap via decision six months after their quick first fight.
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Reinier de Ridder must pull off another upset to keep his hopes of a UFC title alive
If De Ridder is to stake his claim for the chance to add UFC gold to his trophy cabinet, he must upset the odds once again when he takes to the cage Saturday.
De Ridder will be the underdog against Whittaker at UFC Abu Dhabi. The main event at Etihad Arena will mark Whittaker’s first fight since Khamzat Chimaev dominated him at the same venue nine months ago.
While ‘The Reaper’ will no doubt be keen to avoid a similar fate on the ground, he comes up against a renowned grappler and submission specialist in De Ridder.
After a perfect start to his UFC career and a statement performance over the highly touted Bo Nickal last time out, July 26 could go down as the day on which De Ridder entered the title picture on MMA’s biggest stage.