Reinier de Ridder Ready for Second Fight Against Kevin Holland
Reinier de Ridder wasn’t happy with how many fights he got while on the ONE Championship roster. When the Dutch star chose to sign with the UFC, he knew plenty of work would be available. After debuting with an uneven performance in a submission win over Gerald Meerschaert, MMAfighting latest news shows de Ridder has accepted his second fight against Kevin Holland.
The two men will meet at UFC 311 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. There will be a lot of steps for de Ridder to take if he is going to make waves in the UFC’s middleweight division. A matchup with Holland should present him with an opportunity to impress the fanbase.
After debuting on a fight night in November, de Ridder’s next fight, being on a pay-per-view, should attract a larger audience. De Ridder will be in an interesting position against Holland, who is an unorthodox fighter.
UFC 311 is Starting to Fill In
There hasn’t been an official announcement yet, but Khabib Nurmagomedov said that UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev accepted fighting Arman Tsarukyan for the championship. There is a lot of drama behind that matchup.Tsarukyan fought Makhachev on short notice during his UFC debut. He has improved a lot since then. The best MMA news websites show that Tsarukyan may be the most capable of challenging Makhachev. A number of other fights have been announced as well.
Here’s a look at some other fights that have been rumored or confirmed for the event:
Light heavyweight, Jiří Procházka vs. Jamahal Hill
Heavyweight, Jailton Almedia vs. Serghei Spivac
Bantamweight, Rinya Nakamura vs. Muin Gafurov
Light heavyweight, Johnny Walker vs. Bogdan Guskov
Middleweight, Zachary Reese vs. Sedrigues Dumas
Bantamweight, Raoni Barcelos vs. Payton Talbott
Bantamweight, Ricky Turcios vs. Bernardo Sopaj
Lightweight, Grant Dawson vs. Carlos Diego Ferreira
De Ridder Got a Win in His Debut
There aren’t too many paths to the UFC for fighters who fight in rival promotions. Most of the new fighters in the promotion come through Dana White’s Contender Series. But de Ridder was too accomplished a fighter to have to take such a detour.
De Ridder already had 19 professional fights under his belt when he debuted in the UFC by submitting Meerschaert with an arm-triangle choke during the third round. De Ridder was one of the biggest fish in the pond with ONE.
De Ridder was the light heavyweight and middleweight champion at ONE. He defended his middleweight crown twice before running into a Russian buzzsaw, Anatoly Malykhin. Malykhin took both belts off de Ridder on his way to becoming the first-ever three-division MMA champion in a major promotion.
Holland Could Use a Win
Throughout Holland’s UFC career, he has been known as a fighter with a difficult style to predict. Holland is willing to take chances to finish fights that pay off spectacularly. However, Holland’s risk-taking can also lead to a lot of horrendous mistakes.
Holland has been knocked twice in his career and has been submitted three times. Over Holland’s last four fights, he has taken three losses. Holland can’t afford another defeat.
One area where Holland may have the edge is in the standup. De Ridder looked uncomfortable whenever the fight between him and Meerschaert was on their feet. That isn’t a great sign, as Meerschaert isn’t a striking specialist.
Meerschaert would much rather grapple. But de Ridder was able to benefit from this because Meerschaert doesn’t have the same level of skill on the ground as de Ridder does.
Middleweight Division Has Developed a Deep Bench
Being a former champion in another promotion didn’t buy de Ridder any favors when he made the jump to the UFC. In fact, de Ridder isn’t ranked in the top 15 of the middleweight division despite his championship pedigree. There is a level of skepticism with any ONE fighter who comes over to the UFC.
ONE hasn’t been great at growing its MMA brand and does a disservice to its fighters by not finding top competition for them to fight. Dricus du Plessis is the current UFC middleweight champion. But behind him, the UFC has many fighters who are former champions or top contenders.
Sean Strickland, Israel Adesanya, and Robert Whittaker all used to hold the belt and are still active fighters. Khamzat Chimaev is a prodigious talent who hasn’t earned a championship opportunity yet because of issues with injury and illness.
Nassourdine Imavov and Caio Borralho are two up-and-coming middleweights who figure to factor into the title picture over the next few years. De Ridder has a lot of names to jump before he can start to think about a belt.
How Much Does Holland Have Left?
While MMA news sites show the UFC isn’t as cut-happy as it used to be, there still has to be concern for fighters when losses start to stack up. Holland, 32, isn’t too old but is an active fighter who has been through a lot of difficult fighters.
Holland has 39 professional fights under his belt. It is unlikely Holland would ever put together a strong enough run to win a belt, but he is an exciting fighter and fun personality. The UFC likes to keep those guys around.
Holland just needs to provide them with a reason why he should stay on the payroll. Beating de Ridder could go a long way toward making sure that happens.
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By Dean McHugh.
