This past Saturday in the main event of UFC Vancouver, we saw a big time matchup in the middleweight division. Reinier De Ridder (21-3) was looking to continue his impressive run inside the octagon as he took on Brendan Allen (26-7).
De Ridder made his octagon debut last November and defeated Gerald Meerschaert. That win was followed by wins over Kevin Holland, Bo Nickal, and Robert Whittaker. Originally, De Ridder was supposed to face Anthony Hernandez on Saturday and had he won that, he would’ve likely been next for Khamzat Chimaev.
Hernandez got hurt and RDR ended up facing Brendan Allen. Even a win over Allen might’ve netted RDR the title shot over fellow top contender Nassourdine Imavov. I expected De Ridder to put on a great performance and win on Saturday night.
In the first round, he looked like he was on his way after taking down and dominating Brendan Allen in the first round. That said, he couldn’t find the finish. In the second round, he got another takedown but he found himself reversed. He ultimately ate a bunch of big shots from Allen during that round.
The third round was a repeat of the second round and De Ridder looked gassed and exhausted after the third round. In the fourth round, it was one-way traffic for Allen as he beat up RDR. De Ridder’s corner ultimately stopped the fight after the fourth and Allen got the TKO win at UFC Vancouver.
What’s next after UFC Vancouver?
You cannot draw up a worse performance in my opinion. It’s one thing to get caught and knocked out or get caught in a submission, it’s another thing to get completely dominated and essentially quit on the stool. I know it was De Ridder’s corner who threw in the towel, but the lasting image from this fight is RDR sitting on the stool and not coming out for the final round.
It’s going to take a few wins to wash away the terrible performance he had at UFC Vancouver. In terms of his next fight, I think you might look at a matchup with him and Caio Borralho next. Borralho was also knocking on the door of a title shot prior to losing a lopsided fight to Nassourdine Imavov last month at UFC Paris.
It seems like a good time to pair up Borralho and RDR with the winner getting back in contention and the loser really needing to regroup before making the walk again.
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