After his big win at UFC 311, what’s next for Reinier De Ridder?

MMA: UFC 311 Holland vs de Ridder
Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Kicking off the PPV main card at UFC 311 this past Saturday was a very intriguing matchup in the middleweight division between two guys trying to crack the top fifteen. One of the more charismatic fighters in the promotion in Kevin Holland (26-13, 1 NC) was taking on former two-division ONE champion Reinier De Ridder (19-2).

De Ridder made his octagon debut back in November and it wasn’t the prettiest performance in the world. He submitted Gerald Meerschaert in the third round, but there were definitely some rocky moments throughout that fight especially int he striking. Entering this fight, it was clear that he needed to get the fight to the ground.

He wasted no time in trying to take Holland down. For Holland’s sake, you hoped that his takedown defense would be a little better, but he wasn’t able to stop it. Holland threatened off his back at times, but RDR was in control while they were on the ground. After a scramble, De Ridder secured a rear naked choke and Holland was forced to tap moving RDR to 2-0 in the UFC.

What’s next after UFC 311?

This performance wasn’t enough to get De Ridder into the rankings, but it was a good enough performance where I believe that his next fight will come against a ranked opponent. With that, who should the UFC target for the former ONE two-division champion?

I like the idea of De Ridder fighting a very similar fighting next in 13th ranked Jack Hermansson. It would have a real European flavor but I think it would be a great fight to determine which of those two is more capable of climbing up the rankings with their styles. We haven’t seen Hermansson since his win over Joe Pyfer so he’s due to make a comeback soon.

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