Reinier de Ridder didn’t care about the stigma surrounding BJJ when he first started.
After a trio of highlight-reel victories over Gerald Meerschaert, Kevin Holland, and Bo Nickal, ‘RDR’ will face his toughest test yet when he meets former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker this Saturday in Abu Dhabi.
With 20 career victories to his credit, de Ridder has forced 14 of his foes to either tap, nap, or snap, establishing himself as one of the best BJJ practitioners in the sport today.
“At 16, other things got more interesting—girls, partying,” de Ridder said in a recent interview with former UFC and ONE world champion Demetrious Johnson. Then I moved to a new city, tried to find a judo gym, but ended up in a jiu-jitsu gym instead. Everybody says jiu-jitsu is ‘gay,’ but you quickly find out it’s very powerful once you see good guys choke you out.”
“I started at the Renzo Gracie gym in Holland. That’s where my MMA journey started pretty quickly.”
Reinier de Ridder could go from top 15 to top five with a win over Whittaker
Before making his UFC debut last year, ‘RDR’ established himself as a formidable force in MMA under the ONE Championship banner, winning both the ONE middleweight and light heavyweight titles.
He ultimately lost both belts to Russian juggernaut Anatoly Malykhin before parting ways with the promotion.
Currently, de Ridder sits as the No. 13 ranked contender in the UFC’s middleweight division. If he manages to snatch an improbable win over Robert Whittaker at Etihad Arena, he’ll skyrocket himself into the top five, putting him in prime position for a shot at the 185-pound crown.
