UFC newcomer Reinier de Ridder may not have majorly impressed in his debut, but he’s confident of leaving a mark when he makes his sophomore walk to the Octagon this month.
De Ridder, a former two-division ONE Championship titleholder, arrived on MMA’s biggest stage in 2024 following a shock departure from the Asia-based organization. After confirming that he’d be competing at 185 pounds, the Dutchman got his first taste of UFC action against veteran Gerald Meerschaert last November.
Their Apex clash was a competitive one, with “GM3” finding plenty of success before ultimately falling to an arm-triangle choke submission in round three. But despite having his hand raised, de Ridder’s performance seemingly left much to be desired.
During a recent appearance on MMA Junkie Radio, “The Dutch Knight” looked ahead to his next fight — a clash with the always entertaining Kevin Holland at next weekend’s UFC 311 pay-per-view.
De Ridder first sought to explain the reasons behind his lackluster debut display before asserting plans to put a demolition job on “Big Mouth” come fight night in Los Angeles on Jan. 18.
“At the end of the day, a fight is a fight, of course, and I’ve been in plenty of fights, so I know how to take care of that part of the deal,” de Ridder said. “There’s a lot going on behind the scenes, of course. I like Gerald a lot; I respected Gerald a lot coming into this one, so I didn’t go as full throttle from the bat as I will this fight. I’m just coming in to wreck this guy this time.
“I’m very happy with the fight, of course,” de Ridder continued. “Kevin is a name, and it’s a quick turnaround, so I’m very happy about that. … He’s very wild on the feet. But I’m going to put a lot of pressure on him, hit him with some good shots, take him down, choke him out, hopefully.”
While de Ridder enters the contest off two straight wins, the first of which came under the UAE Warriors banner last July, Holland has lost three of his last four.
After returning to middleweight in 2024 with a crushing submission win over Micha? Oleksiejczuk, Holland’s push to regain a ranking was stalled by Roman Dolidze, who dominated “Trailblazer” at UFC 307 before an injury to the American brought the fight to a premature end.