Reinier de Ridder has each cause to have a good time after his knockout win over Bo Nickal this previous weekend at UFC Des Moines, however regardless of his victory, he feels no must step on his opponent in defeat.
The previous two-division ONE Champion placed on a dominant efficiency at hand Nickal the primary lack of his profession, however he doesn’t purchase the concept the three-time Nationwide Champion wrestler one way or the other acquired uncovered. As a substitute, de Ridder believes that he was the higher man that evening, and he supplied Nickal some recommendation on how he ought to take care of the blowback from the loss.
“It’s all the time like that,” de Ridder advised MMA Preventing on Monday. “There’s loads of hype round him. To be sincere, if he’s sensible, he simply places his telephone in one other room for 2 days, and he simply spends a while together with his spouse and youngsters. He’s going to take pleasure in a while at house, get well a bit bit, flip his telephone on once more subsequent week like nothing occurred. All people forgets in a few days. He’ll be wonderful.”
At simply 7-0 in his profession, Nickal was already being touted as a future champion, and he didn’t precisely dissuade anyone from making that argument. Previous feedback about profitable potential fights towards top-ranked middleweights like Khamzat Chimaev began circulating virtually instantly after Nickal acquired blasted with a physique shot that stopped the struggle and ended his undefeated run within the UFC.
For his half, de Ridder by no means felt that Nickal was wanting previous him or approached the struggle with an overinflated ego, however he additionally is aware of how rapidly a foul loss can humble anyone as a result of it’s occurred to him personally.
“The distinction between being very assured and conceited may be very small,” de Ridder stated. “I’ve been a sufferer of this prior to now, possibly a bit bit as properly. I’m all the time assured in my talents, however I’ve stepped over the road a bit bit into conceitedness as properly. I don’t really feel he was that conceited coming into this struggle all, to be sincere. He was very humble. From what I’ve seen, he was very down-to-earth coming into this struggle.
“It’s as much as him now. I’ve been on this place. I’ve misplaced. I’ve misplaced terribly, like just about mainly like this struggle, I misplaced as properly. Now it’s as much as him to see if this generally is a destructive factor or a optimistic factor. He could make this right into a optimistic factor. He can have a look at this as being a giant lesson and one thing he’s going to develop [from] or he can have a look at this and say that it was a fluke and I simply wasn’t myself that day and f*ck it. However I feel in case you see how far he’s already gotten on this recreation, how far he’s gone in wrestling, you’ll be able to’t have a weak mindset. He’s a really sturdy man. He’s a really sturdy particular person, and I feel he’s going to take a while off from planning a struggle, and we’ll see him again in six months, and he’s going to tear via loads of guys.”
He has a lot confidence in Nickal’s talents that de Ridder really hopes that they get the possibility to work collectively now that the struggle between them is over.
“I would like to work with this man,” de Ridder stated. “I would like to work with him. Due to the ability set he brings, it could be superior to coach collectively. I don’t actually know if me being a Kill Cliff man now and him being [American Top Team] goes to work out, however possibly we are able to do it low-key and never inform anyone.”
Nickal may be down within the dumps proper now however de Ridder completely expects him bounce again from this loss and are available again even higher than earlier than.
“I’m simply completely satisfied I acquired an opportunity to struggle him now and never in three years,” de Ridder stated. “In three years, he’s going to be a f*cking killer. He’s going to run via everyone.”
So far as his personal profession goes, de Ridder hopes that the win over Nickal vaults him ahead into even larger and higher fights.
Whereas Nickal wasn’t extremely ranked, his title drew loads of consideration to the struggle, and de Ridder simply knocked him out inside two rounds. With this type of dramatic win on his resume, de Ridder needs to parlay this efficiency into a fair larger struggle when he returns to motion later this yr.
“That was the factor in my thoughts as properly, going into the struggle — he won’t be ranked within the high 5, however at the least he’s a top-five title,” de Ridder stated. “In America, everyone is aware of this man. He’s extremely touted; everyone anticipated the world from him.
“I’m hoping this actually places me up there to struggle a man like [Sean] Strickland, like I known as out. So fingers crossed.”
