Former two-weight ONE Championship gold holder, Reinier de Ridder has landed in the Octagon with aplomb tonight in the co-headliner of UFC Vegas 100 — taking out former training partner and fellow grappling talent, Gerald Meerschaert with a triangle choke submission.
de Ridder, a former undisputed ONE Championship middleweight and light heavyweight champion, made his anticipated debut in the UFC tonight, off the back of a brief outing in the UAE Warriors promotion following his exit from the Chatri Sityodtong-led organizational banner.
And struggling early with the sharpest of Meerschaert’s striking on the feet, de Ridder managed to likely sway the opening round in the final 10-seconds, landing a winging shot to sit down the grappling ace before the buzzer.
Grappling with the decorated Jiu-Jitsu player for the second and third round to boot in his Octagon debut, Dutch submission ace, de Ridder managed to hop on one side of Meerschaert in the third round, racking up an arm-triangle stoppage win.
And off the back of his success, de Ridder made an impromptu offer to feature as soon as next weekend at UFC 309 in Madison Square Garden.
Below, catch the highlights from Reinier de Ridder’s submission over Gerald Meerschaert
Saved by the bell
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