The UFC made a big splash this week with the signing of Reinier de Ridder, a former two-division champion in ONE Championship’s middleweight (205-pound) and light heavyweight (225-pound) divisions.
With his addition to the UFC roster, the fighter from Netherlands will bring with him a very specialized skill set that could shake up the 185-pound division in which he'll be competing.
Upon being signed, it was announced that de Ridder would make his debut on Nov. 9 against Gerald Meerschaert, who will test de Ridder’s grappling with his own impeccable credentials as the UFC’s all-time leader in submissions at middleweight with 11 -- it's also the third most in UFC history (tied with Demian Maia) regardless of weight class.
During his five-year tenure with ONE Championship, de Ridder amassed a 7-2 record with his only losses coming to three-division champion Anatoly Malykhin and five of his seven wins coming by submission.
Those submission wins are what set de Ridder apart from his contemporaries and by showing his ingenuity and mastery on the ground, he became one of the promotion’s biggest stars.
The UFC’s middleweight division has many well-rounded fighters and has predominantly had champions who have relied on superior striking, whereas de Ridder will challenge much of the division with his dominant grappling in a way that has not been seen perhaps since the retirement of Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza more than three years ago.
While de Ridder lacks the sort of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu credentials of a Souza or Maia, he makes up for it in how aggressively he pursues submissions.
The big questions will be whether de Ridder, at age 34, still has some good years left in him and, more importantly, how he fares against UFC-level competition.
The most successful fighter from ONE Championship to enter the UFC prior to de Ridder is Ben Askren, another specialist who was also 34 years old and went 1-2 in the UFC before retiring due to injuries and, coincidentally, a former training partner of Meerschaert’s.
De Ridder's UFC debut against Meerschaert will determine how his skills match up against a seasoned UFC veteran and, should he pass the test, the logical next step would be a ranked opponent as Meerschaert currently sits outside the top 15.
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