UFC middleweight contender Reinier de Ridder has spoken openly about his physical condition following his UFC Vancouver defeat at the hands of Brendan Allen.
As we know, Reinier de Ridder was in fantastic form heading into his meeting with Brendan Allen in the main event. While many recognized that Allen had a chance to clear the upset, RDR was the clear favorite. But in the end, Allen forced the Ridder to retire on the stool, producing quite a surprising result in the Great White North.
Reinier de Ridder quickly noticed some of the injuries and health issues he was dealing with, but that didn’t stop the masses from calling him a quitter for choosing not to continue fighting.
In a recent interview, Reinier de Ridder elaborated on where he currently stands.
Reinier de Ridder opens up on his health
“I still feel like sh*t,” de Ridder told Submission Radio. “When I walk up the stairs, I’m out of breath. There’s a lot of information coming back from the blood tests and stuff, but I don’t want to be too specific because then I’ll never get a second chance.”
“There are some physical things that aren’t right, and I’m going to see if I can fix all of that before I come back. It’s something I struggled with in the past during the second (Anatoly) Malykhin fight, and I thought I had solved it, but apparently not.”
“I messed up big time,” De Ridder said. “When I look back at the training camp, I just pushed myself way too far. Basically the whole camp I felt sluggish, very exhausted and very tired after every session, during every session. To be honest, even in the Robert (Whittaker) camp I didn’t even feel like myself in the last few weeks.
“But I was very stubborn as a Dutchman should be, and I kept pushing myself, going harder and harder, and it showed in the fight. I’m not sure if it was the weight cut. It must have played a role because it was much harder to get down this time. But most importantly, I beat up my body like crazy this year. I went too far. … I was so focused on finally getting my title shot and I thought I would secure it in Vancouver, So I kept pushing.”
Quotes via MMA junkie
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