Reinier de Ridder arrived in the UFC last year as a true specialist in mixed martial arts. Despite coming from a part of the world that is known for its kickboxing prowess, the Dutch competitor is a jiu-jitsu mastermind.
The former two-division titleholder in ONE Championship has produced 13 submission victories out of 18 total pro wins. With a variety of techniques under his belt, including an inverted triangle choke, “The Dutch Knight” is a serious threat once the fight hits the floor.
He was able to showcase this in his UFC debut in November where in the third round, he tapped out the holder of the most submissions in UFC middleweight history (tied third-most overall) when he caught Gerald Meerschaert in an arm triangle choke. In his next outing inside the Octagon, de Ridder faces Kevin Holland at UFC 311 this weekend.
Holland also has an impressive submission record with nine of his 26 wins coming via this method but there’s no denying that he does his best work whilst the fight stays standing. Having been submitted twice during his UFC tenure, this is exactly the method of victory that his opponent is aiming for at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles.
De Ridder spoke during his media day interview about how he sees the fight going and what he will do in order to get his hand raised by adding another sub to his record.
“I’m going to try and pressure him, hit him with some good shots, take him down, choke him out,” de Ridder said Wednesday at a media day for UFC 311. “I see myself putting the pressure on. I think the first minute is going to be very wild, very spectacular. He’s going to be trying to get away from me throwing wild stuff, wild kicks, wild punches.
“I’m going to be pressuring him, hopefully getting him a couple times with some kicks, get him against the cage, get him down, get to his back and choke him out as soon as possible.”