After a star-making stint at the top of ONE Championship’s food chain, Reinier De Ridder is happy to be free of the promotion. The 34-year-old Dutch star won gold at both middleweight and light-heavyweight under their banner and was considered one of their greatest fighters ever. But he left on bad terms this year after two straight stoppage defeats to Anatoly Malykhin.
After picking up a win in UAE Warriors, he has joined up with the UFC, winning his debut on Saturday night at the 100th UFC Apex event. And now he is warning others in MMA to avoid heading to ONE Championship , regardless of what is being offered to them. Who is Dana White? All you need to know about the CEO and President of the UFC Reinier De Ridder struggled to win over Gerald Meerschaert in UFC debut In the co-main event of UFC Vegas 100, Reinier De Ridder made his long awaited debut under the sport’s biggest banner.
He had long been touted as one of the top fighters in Europe, and showed his prowess at times in a battle with octagon veteran Gerald Meerschaert . While the 55-fight star’s record may not be the most impressive, he is considered one of the clearest tests of a fighter’s ability on the big stage. And De Ridder went straight in at the deep end facing him in his debut.
He ran out of the traps early, winning the first on every scorecard before visibly tiring as the bout went on. It was his return to 185lb and perhaps weight cutting was an issue as he allowed Meerschaert back into the fight,.
