Former two-weight ONE Championship champion, Reinier de Ridder, shared his thoughts on his upcoming UFC debut. On November 9, Reinier will face American Gerald Meerschaert at UFC Fight Night 247.
I’m looking forward to getting in there. Looking forward to getting some activity. I’m very happy, very psyched, it’s cool. It’s the league we all look up to. Every fighter wants to fight in the UFC. Every fan wants to watch UFC. It’s been asked a lot of times over the years so it’s very cool to finally be there. I went through every stage of an MMA fighter’s career. I went from unranked to title challenger to two-division champion and it always got some traction. People liked it and respected it. But now I just started all over again. So I go fight unranked again [in UFC] and it’s a bigger deal than becoming a two-division champion. It’s funny.
Reinier de Ridder
Reinier de Ridder's last fight was in July 2024 at UAE Warriors 51, where he won via technical knockout in the first round against Magomedmurad Khasaev. He boasts a record of 17 wins and two losses.
Gerald Meerschaert last entered the octagon in August 2024 at UFC on ESPN 62, where he defeated Edmen Shahbazyan by submission in the second round. His professional record stands at 37 wins and 17 losses.