Reinier de Ridder will keep an eye on the long -awaited middleweight title collision of this month between Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev.
After his impressive victory over Split decision at Robert Whittaker in Abu Dhabi, De Ridder shot himself up on the 185 pound ranks, landed at the no. 5 place and possibly committed himself to a shot at the main prize of the division.
But before he can cash in a golden chance, he will have to lean back and wait to see how things take place on August 16 when Du Plessis, the reigning world champion middleweight, sets his belt on the undefeated Chechen monster on UFC 319.
‘RDR’ has already expressed his willingness to step in and fight against Du Plessis, Chimaev has to withdraw, as he is known. But if the fight ends without problems, the Dutchman hopes that ‘DDP’ will overcome the opportunities and will retain his title.
“I think if Khamzat wins, especially if he wins decisively, he will be a huge name, and that could come with him who takes a lot of free time,” De Ridder said MMA Fighting. “So it might be better if Dricus wins, and then we can fight in 4-6 months. That would be the best … So hopefully it would be nice if Dricus wins and we can prepare it.”
Who loses their ‘o’ in the Octagon on UFC 319?
It will be the third middleweight title defense of Du Plessis, the first two to meet Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland.
DDP ‘goes into the fight with a perfect 9-0 record in the OctagonWhile Chimaev is a flawless 14-0 in his mixed martial arts career, eight of those victories come under the UFC banner. ‘Borz’ burst the stage in 2020 and won three fights in two months, but a filthy case of Covid-19 stopped his momentum.
Chimaev continued to win big fighting, but there have been few in between. 2022 was the last time he fought more than once in a calendar year.
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