Reinier de Ridder didn’t care concerning the stigma surrounding BJJ when he first began.
After a trio of highlight-reel victories over Gerald Meerschaert, Kevin Holland, and Bo Nickal, ‘RDR’ will face his hardest check but when he meets former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker this Saturday in Abu Dhabi.
With 20 profession victories to his credit score, de Ridder has compelled 14 of his foes to both faucet, nap, or snap, establishing himself as the most effective BJJ practitioners within the sport at the moment.
“At 16, different issues obtained extra attention-grabbing—ladies, partying,” de Ridder mentioned in a current interview with former UFC and ONE world champion Demetrious Johnson. Then I moved to a brand new metropolis, tried to discover a judo health club, however ended up in a jiu-jitsu health club as a substitute. Everyone says jiu-jitsu is ‘homosexual,’ however you rapidly discover out it’s very highly effective when you see good guys choke you out.”
“I began on the Renzo Gracie health club in Holland. That’s the place my MMA journey began fairly rapidly.”
Reinier de Ridder may go from prime 15 to prime 5 with a win over Whittaker
Earlier than making his UFC debut final 12 months, ‘RDR’ established himself as a formidable power in MMA underneath the ONE Championship banner, profitable each the ONE middleweight and lightweight heavyweight titles.
He finally misplaced each belts to Russian juggernaut Anatoly Malykhin earlier than parting methods with the promotion.
At present, de Ridder sits because the No. 13 ranked contender within the UFC’s middleweight division. If he manages to grab an unbelievable win over Robert Whittaker at Etihad Enviornment, he’ll skyrocket himself into the highest 5, placing him in prime place for a shot on the 185-pound crown.