Reinier
de Ridder believes he hasn’t strayed too far away from the
UFC middleweight title picture.
De Ridder was on the cusp of title contention with four straight
UFC wins, including one over former champion Robert
Whittaker. De Ridder was then scheduled to fight Anthony
Hernandez in October 2025. However, Brendan
Allen replaced an injured Hernandez on short notice against de
Ridder. “All in” brutally beat down de Ridder, forcing the
Dutchman’s corner to throw in the towel before the fifth
round.
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De Ridder is now scheduled to fight Caio
Borralho at
UFC 326 on Saturday in Las Vegas. “The Dutch Knight” believes
the winner of his fight against Borralho gets right back into title
contention with an impressive performance.
“I think it goes for both of us,” he told MMAjunkie.com. “Whoever wins this one
and does it in spectacular fashion, gets right back in the title
mix. There’s a lot of cool fights out there and all I have to do is
put him away and I think I’m lined up to get all those fights
again.”
‘Very Well Balanced’
Weighing in on his upcoming opponent, de Ridder (21-3) says his
opponent’s best attribute is his composure. De Ridder doesn’t think
Borralho (17-2) is particularly exceptional in any aspect of the
game. However, de Ridder believes Borralho’s skill lies in knowing
exactly when to up the tempo and when to slow it down.
“I think his best trait is – he knows when to pour it on, he knows
when to take a step back,” de Ridder said. “I don’t think he is
amazing anywhere, he’s not the greatest grappler, he’s not the
greatest knockout artist. But he is very measured, very well
balanced.”