BJJ black belt and MMA veteran Reinier De Ridder is taking the UFC by storm since moving over to the promotion and he’s currently preparing to fight former champion Robert Whittaker at UFC on ABC 9 on July 26th, 2025. De Ridder has already established himself as one of the best fighters in the world, winning both the middleweight and light-heavyweight titles at ONE Championship before he left the promotion. He first joined the UFC with a 17-2 professional record towards the end of 2024 and he’s already rattled off three finishes in just six months. Most recently, he was seen dominating elite wrestler and top MMA prospect Bo Nickal en route to a second round TKO win.
That was a huge feather in his cap and UFC matchmakers have clearly decided to reward de Ridder with a big opportunity in his next fight. Not only is Whittaker a former middleweight world champion but he’s also currently ranked fifth in the division and a win over him puts de Ridder within touching distance of a title-shot. With just two months left to prepare for the biggest fight of his life, de Ridder is already working on his oath to victory. In a recent interview, he explained that the finish might actually be coming on the ground instead of on the feet:
“One thing we know is he really likes to jump in, right? Lunge in. He’s explosive from a distance. So, I think an important thing for me is to keep the pressure on him like I did with Bo (Nickal). Get close, push him back, and implement my game, maybe hit him with a couple knees again, but mostly just see if I can find his neck.”
The full interview with Reinier de Ridder where he talks about his plan to submit Robert Whittaker was uploaded to the official YouTube channel of MMAJunkie:
