UFC middleweight contender Reinier de Ridder believes Khamzat Chimaev poses a better test for him than Dricus du Plessis.
UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis faces arguably the hardest test of his title reign against Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319 later this month. The undefeated Chimaev gets his long-awaited title shot after storming through among the top names within the promotion’s history, including Kamaru Usman and Robert Whittaker.
Despite Chimaev’s accolades, certainly one of the middleweight division’s top contenders doesn’t consider he’s as difficult of a puzzle to resolve as many expect.
Reinier de Ridder explains what makes Khamzat Chimaev ‘easier’ to fight than Dricus du Plessis
Chimaev and Du Plessis’s title fight comes at an energetic time within the UFC middleweight division. Reinier de Ridder defeated Whittaker about per week ago to proceed his climb, and UFC Vegas 109 is headlined by Anthony Hernandez and Roman Dolidze.
De Ridder has his eyes on a possible title shot, but whether it comes next for him in his UFC tenure stays to be seen. If he had the selection to face either Chimaev or Du Plessis for the belt, De Ridder didn’t hesitate to make his preference known.
During a recent interview with TMZ Sports, De Ridder was asked to judge the 2 UFC 319 headliners.
“Khamzat can be a better fight to organize for I feel,” De Ridder said. “There’s more great wrestlers who even have good striking, but who mostly are great wrestlers. Dricus is just in every single place that it’ll be very hard to seek out a man who can emulate Dricus.
“So Khamzat, I feel can be easier to organize for, but still after all, one other fight of my life. Each of them can be on the schedule before long.”
De Ridder may need to attend a bit longer for a title shot within the crowded middleweight division. Caio Borralho will serve because the UFC 319 backup, just weeks before his major event bout with top contender Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Paris.
Reinier de Ridder made a powerful case for title shot with Robert Whittaker win
Despite the log-jam at the highest of the division, De Ridder could potentially be matched up with one other star name like Israel Adesanya or Sean Strickland for his next fight. A clash with the winner of Borralho vs. Imavov could also make sense for a No. 1 contender fight.
The previous two-division ONE champion De Ridder has impressed in his young UFC stint. He handed Bo Nickal his first MMA defeat by knockout at UFC Des Moines earlier this yr after earning wins over the likes of Kevin Holland and Gerald Meerschaert.
Before signing with the UFC, De Ridder was considered certainly one of the highest fighters outside of the promotion, earning two title wins over Aung La Nsang. He parted ways with ONE after back-to-back defeats to Anatoly Malykhin.