Heading into UFC 319, Dricus du Plessis had already built a strong middleweight title run.
The defending champion was looking to secure his third title defense, which may have seen him move up the greatest of all time rankings at 185 pounds.
After a one-sided loss, du Plessis has been advised to move divisions now that Khamzat Chimaev is the undefeated titleholder.
This win also saw Chimaev skyrocket up the pound-for-pound rankings, putting him in the mix as one of the top five fighters on the roster.
While middleweight is in a great place right now, it has also been home to several legends of the sport in the past, though it’s a common opinion that there is only one true GOAT of the division.
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Reinier de Ridder reveals why he ranks Israel Adesanya above Anderson Silva in middleweight GOAT rankings
In an appearance on Shannon Sharpe’s podcast, Daniel Cormier claimed that Jon Jones and Anderson Silva would be excluded from making it onto his MMA Mount Rushmore.
While it’s hard to argue with his personal reasoning for this due to the drug-related issues that hang over their careers, a lot of people look past this when talking about the greatest middleweight of all time.
Even with a great champion like Israel Adesanya also being in contention, for a lot of people, there isn’t even a debate that anyone other than Silva tops the list.
‘The Spider’ not only holds the second spot for most consecutive UFC title defenses (10), his records are endless, from having the longest winning streak in UFC history (16) to the most finishes in title fights (9).
In a recent appearance on the Pound 4 Pound podcast, UFC middleweight contender Reinier de Ridder revealed that he believes Adesanya is the best to ever do it in his weight class.
He specifically pointed to Adesanya’s rematch with Alex Pereira at UFC 287, where he bounced back from losing his title to knockout ‘Poatan’ in incredible fashion.
“What Adesanya did in that Pereira fight is something you can’t even write a f—— book about, man. The dude is, he’s the best. He’s the best, let’s be real.”
When de Ridder was asked about having Adesanya over Silva, he doubled down on his comments, with the Dutchman clearly holding what ‘The Last Stylebender’ did at UFC 287 in high regard.
“For me, yes.”
Reinier de Ridder sends the rest of the middleweight division a message
Reinier de Ridder could be next to challenge Khamzat Chimaev for the middleweight title if he wins his next matchup with Anthony Hernandez.
The other big clash that is happening before his bout with ‘Fluffy’ features two other contender’s that are in the mix, though de Ridder doesn’t believe that one of them deserves a title shot, even if he wins.
“I think [Nassourdine] Imavov is very deserving as well,” de Ridder said on the Pound 4 Pound podcast. “I think Caio [Borralho] is not there, he didn’t even fight this year… ‘Fluffy’ is close as well, and he deserves the shot soon too.”
At the end of the podcast, de Ridder was asked whether he had a message to the middleweight division, to which he asked them to be patient for a while.
“Just wait a couple of months. Sit aside for this one. Give me the title shot and then I’ll give you all a shot after. Just wait a little bit, take your time and then you can all go after. You can all get a shot at me after.”