The UFC etblissement can often be difficult to break in, and over the years we have seen many hunters fail when we face the best of the best in their respective departments, but Reinier de Ridder has proven that he belongs to the cream of the UFC Middleweight Division after his impressive performance against Robert Whittaker on Saturday evening in Abi.
His achievements against Whittaker showed that he has all the starting of a top candidate and a potential champion in the division. It was a split decision of the razor-close in favor of De Ridder, with two of the three judges scored 48-47 in favor of the Dutchman. Perhaps the most impressive part of De Ridder’s performance was his recovery of being brought down at the start of round three, while Whittaker followed with annoying soil and pound, and seconds seemed to be removed from winning the fight.
What De Ridder did better than Whittaker in this fight was his use of body shots, with 38% of his strikes landing on the body compared to only 6% for Whittaker. De Ridder also picked up control time for nine minutes, which is a well -completed mixed martial artist. His victory now leaves him on a 4-0 record in the UFC and in the top five of the middleweight rankings.
What now?
There are currently many moving parts in the UFC middle weight ranks, and it is very likely that De Ridder needs a fight before he can challenge the title, with Khamzat Chimaev who will be the next challenger for Driccus Du Plessis’ Crown next month. It is more than likely that the next competition will be the winner of Nassourdine Imavov and Caio Borralho respectively, ranked number one and SI.
Israel Adesanya would more than probably leave that, which is currently in fourth place as the most likely to fight for RDR. Adesanya is currently on a three-fighter loss streak, with his most recent loss via TKO against Imavov in February. The former champion wants to come back in the win -column and push back his name in title conflicts, and it seems that this is the most obvious fight for both RDR and Adesanya, because most of the current top candidates have been booked, and with Sean Strickland, this seems to be the most likely next match.
It would be an interesting stylistic collision, with Adesanya’s more polished striking against the more well -completed approach of De Ridder. It would be interesting to see how both hunters adapt.
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