Reinier de Ridder didn’t care in regards to 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 take a look at 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 pressured 14 of his foes to both faucet, nap, or snap, establishing himself as top-of-the-line BJJ practitioners within the sport in the present day.
“At 16, different issues bought extra fascinating—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 an alternative. All people 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 high 15 to high 5 with a win over Whittaker
Earlier than making his UFC debut final 12 months, ‘RDR’ established himself as a formidable drive in MMA underneath the ONE Championship banner, successful each the ONE middleweight and light-weight heavyweight titles.
He in the end misplaced each belts to Russian juggernaut Anatoly Malykhin earlier than parting methods with the promotion.
At the moment, de Ridder sits because the No. 13 ranked contender within the UFC’s middleweight division. If he manages to grab an inconceivable win over Robert Whittaker at Etihad Area, he’ll skyrocket himself into the highest 5, placing him in prime place for a shot on the 185-pound crown.
