This past Saturday in the co-main event of UFC Des Moines, we saw a major matchup in the middleweight division where arguably the top prospect in the division faced his toughest challenge to date. Bo Nickal (7-1) was getting a huge step up in taking on former two-division ONE champion Reinier De Ridder (20-2).
Yes, De Ridder was a former two-division champion in ONE and yes, he entered the octagon 2-0 since jumping over to the UFC, but he was a big betting underdog on Saturday night. There was a ton of hype around the undefeated former NCAA champion Bo Nickal. Nickal has shown flashes of great striking with power and we know how good his grappling is.
That said, despite the odds, this was going to be a very tough test for him and it was one that he ultimately wouldn’t pass. De Ridder looked huge inside the octagon and in the grappling exchanges, it just felt like he had the upper hand. When they were on the feet, you could see flashes over Nickal’s power and explosiveness, but it was nullified by De Ridder.
In the second round at UFC Des Moines, De Ridder went hard after the body of Nickal. He was landing really good shots especially his knees. Eventually, they ended up in the clinch and De Ridder started to tee off. He landed a clean left on the break and then launched a step-in knee that crumbled Nickal and ended his perfect professional record.
What’s next after UFC Des Moines?
I’ll admit it, Reinier De Ridder was not impressive to me after I saw the Gerald Meerschaert fight. I was definitely more impressed with the Kevin Holland fight but this was next level. He made Bo Nickal look like he didn’t belong anywhere near the top fifteen in the UFC and that’s saying a lot.
After the fight was over, De Ridder said that he wanted to fight Sean Strickland. In the post-fight press conference, I asked him if there’s anyone else in the top ten he’s interested in and he said he would fight anyone, but he really wants the Sean Strickland fight. That said, I don’t know if that happens.
I think Strickland is likely going to be paired with a Robert Whittaker or Israel Adesanya next. We know the Strickland rematch is the fight that Adesanya really wants right now. I see the UFC going in a different direction with RDR. I think a great next fight would be him and Roman Dolidze. Dolidze is currently ranked 8th and has won his last three. Could be a great time for these two to fight with the winner being positioned to face someone in the top five next.