Reinier De Ridder didn’t have much to say in response to Khamzat Chimaev’s critique of his recent loss, but one troll account did bring receipts.
The previous ONE FC champion decided to not get off the stool between rounds at UFC Vancouver as Brendan Allen defeated him in what might be a title decider at middleweight. It led to widespread trolling from the MMA world, most notably Chimaev himself.
Now an account claiming to be De Ridder has launched a comeback on the champion, using just two words but a slew of images mocking his rival’s regular pullouts. Since signing with the UFC 11 months ago, the Dutch star has fought five times, while Chimaev has fought the identical amount since 2021.
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Reinier De Ridder troll hits back at Khamzat Chimaev amid social media feud
Khamzat Chimaev was quick to react to Reinier De Ridder’s defeat on Saturday night, writing multiple mocking messages on X for his followers. “This bulls— guy hand over,” he wrote, after tagging a fake account to jot down “big bulls—“.
Never one to miss the possibility for a viral tweet, the person behind the De Ridder account clapped back on the middleweight champion. Over 2.1million people saw him reply “shut up,” alongside a rat emoji and a collage of photos of Chimaev in hospital around his various fight pullouts and health issues.
In actual fact, it seems that De Ridder has not made any statement concerning the fight or his decision to not proceed on via any of his official channels. His coach has spoken out with a lengthy message to fans on social media, and thousands and thousands were duped by the Chimaev tweet.
Reinier De Ridder coach reacts to UFC Vancouver loss
In a post to his private Instagram account, coach Harun Ozkan wrote a lengthy message which read: “Last night didn’t go as we wanted. After a really strong start in the primary round, things quickly began fading and we couldn’t really recuperate from the shots in and after the second round.
“I made the decision to stop the fight after the fourth round. I take full responsibility for that call and it was the fitting call to make for me within the moment. It’s not a call I ever desired to make, but I suppose sometimes you might have to. My job is to teach, but additionally to look out for my fighter’s health.
“I’ve been with Reinier for mainly his whole profession and saw too many signs that made me step in. If I didn’t do anything, he would’ve continued the fight. Relatively than risk unnecessary damage, I made a decision to call it a day and go home as healthy as possible. Live to fight one other day.
“I absolutely don’t care about pleasing others if it comes at the fee of somebody’s health. There’s a skinny line between ‘being tough’ and watching out in your health. This sport could be brutal. These guys sacrifice a variety of their life out and in of the cage – there’s no need for excess damage if it will probably be avoided.
“Most individuals forget they’re human too. Zero excuses for this loss, we knew what we were going for. We usually are not completely happy with this performance, but for now recovery first, evaluate some stuff and we will probably be back next yr.
“It has been an incredible yr overall and thankful for all of the highs and lows in life. Pleased with you my brother [Reinier]. We’ve come a great distance.”