The Dutch contender says he may reach out to Bo Nickal as he positions himself for a middleweight title shot at Chimaev.
Khamzat Chimaev’s reign as middleweight champion has already sparked speculation about his next opponent, and Reinier de Ridder could be at the front of the queue. The Dutch fighter admitted he’s even considering bringing in former rival Bo Nickal to help prepare for the toughest challenge of his career.
It’s now clear that two upcoming bouts will play a role in determining who gets the shot at ending Chimaev’s unbeaten run.
READ MORE: Islam Makhachev’s coach comments on Khamzat Chimaev’s UFC 319 controversial strategy
Dana White has confirmed that Reinier de Ridder and Anthony Hernandez will meet on October 18. The outcome of that fight, along with the main event at UFC Paris next month, will help decide who steps up next.
One of the four fighters under consideration has already begun to think about how he might prepare for such a challenge.
Reinier de Ridder considers bringing in former rival Bo Nickal to prepare for Khamzat Chimaev
Chimaev, now holding the middleweight title, dropped a hint on social media that Reinier de Ridder could be next in line. This only added to the talk surrounding De Ridder’s chance at a title shot.
If he can stretch his winning streak to five fights within a year of joining the UFC, and does so convincingly, there will be a strong case for him being next up for Chimaev.
Speaking with MMA Junkie, ‘The Dutch Knight’ was asked about his access to high-level training partners at Kill Cliff FC in Florida – specifically, whether he already had enough top-tier grapplers to get him ready for Chimaev’s style.
De Ridder also mentioned the possibility of reaching out to an old opponent. He was the first man to beat Bo Nickal and is open to reconnecting ahead of another major fight.
“I was thinking, I might try and send him a message, but if I can get Bo Nickal out, that’d be amazing,” De Ridder said. “That’d be great. That would be amazing for this fight especially. We’ll see.”
Back in April last year, while still unbeaten, Nickal told The MMA Hour that he would “ragdoll” Chimaev if they ever fought because of his stronger wrestling background.
The Dutch fighter admitted there were some hurdles beyond their past result and training backgrounds that could get in the way of putting something together between them.
Reinier de Ridder raises questions about Dricus du Plessis’ preparation ahead of UFC 319
Reinier de Ridder isn’t worried about finding the right training partners to get ready for Khamzat Chimaev. But he did wonder if that might have been a problem for Dricus du Plessis ahead of UFC 319.
While Chimaev’s wrestling was always expected to be a problem, du Plessis looked completely unprepared for it.
Speaking to MMA Junkie, de Ridder said:
De Ridder also noted that du Plessis used to travel and train at Kill Cliff in Florida but hasn’t been seen there recently.
“But, a couple of years ago, he was still coming over to Kill Cliff here. It’s just something I’ve wondered about, like does he even have high-level wrestlers to train with over there, because that might be something he’s missing I’d say.”
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