Reinier de Ridder wants Dricus du Plessis to beat Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319
Now 4-0 in the UFC, including three finishes along the way, de Ridder has taken the middleweight division by storm while quickly becoming one of the most talked-about fighters on the UFC roster. Ideally, de Ridder hopes to fight for gold next and it's definitely not out of the realm of possibility given that the only 185-pounders to beat Whittaker have been champions or fighters who went on to compete for a title.
'Yeah, actually yeah [I think a title shot is next],' de Ridder told MMA Fighting. 'We'll see how it all comes together but that would be the dream.'
Reigning middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis is now just days away from defending his title against undefeated Chechen mauler Khamzat Chimaev in the UFC 319 main event. The UFC hasn't declared a new No. 1 contender waiting in line for the winner, although de Ridder likes his chances to get that call.
After training with both fighters in the past, de Ridder actually favored du Plessis to win after breaking down the matchup, but he also has a more selfish reason for hoping the South African champion retains his title.
'I think if Khamzat wins this one, especially if he wins decisively, he'll be a huge name,' de Ridder explaind. 'That might come with him taking a lot of time off after.
'It might be better if Dricus wins and we can fight in four to six months. That would be best I think. Hopefully it would be nice if Dricus wins and we can line it up.'
It can't be ignored that Chimaev has endured long stretches of inactivity due to illness or injury so that doesn't bode well for him booking another fight after UFC 319.
That said, de Ridder doesn't truly care who wins so long as he gets a shot at the belt.
'It's always logistics and everything lining up right as well. We'll see,' de Ridder said. 'Maybe Dricus or Khamzat wants a nice quick turnaround and I can be ready for it.'
The other obstacle potentially standing in de Ridder's way is the Sept. 6 UFC Paris main event when Nassourdine Imavov clashes with Caio Borralho in a five-round fight. Borralho is undefeated in the UFC with a perfect 7-0 record while Imavov has rattled off four straight wins including a stunning knockout of former champion Israel Adesanya in his most recent outing.
The winner of that matchup could potentially usurp de Ridder as the No. 1 contender in the division. While he doesn't necessarily wish them ill will, 'RDR' hopes they don't exactly put on a thrilling or entertaining fight.
'Hopefully [it will] be a very boring fight or one of the two wins and he gets hurt and can't fight for a little while. We'll see,' de Ridder said. 'We'll see what happens.'
As far as who wins that fight, de Ridder admits he doesn't know as much about Borralho, but he's definitely seen a lot of Imavov and he's been impressed by his recent run.
'Imavov had some losses at the beginning of his career,' de Ridder said. 'I think over the last couple of fights, he got so complete. He's so well-rounded. He does everything very good. I see Imavov winning that fight but I could be wrong.
'I haven't studied Borralho as much yet so I'll do some more studying. In my mind, Imavov would win that fight.'
Since joining the UFC in free agency, de Ridder has stayed incredibly busy booking four fights in an eight-month span, but he's planning on hitting the pause button for now.
With a potential title shot so close, de Ridder expects to wait and see what happens with du Plessis vs. Chimaev and Imavov vs. Borralho and then figure out what comes next.
'I think that's the only thing I can do right now [is wait],' de Ridder said. 'Hang back, make sure that I'm there in Chicago [for UFC 319] and we'll see what the next fight will be.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
UFC 319 lineup hit by injuries: King Green withdraws from undercard bout saying he 'can't even walk'
With UFC 319 still two days away, the lineup has lost two scheduled bouts due to injury. King Green, who had been scheduled to face Carlos Diego Ferreira on the undercard of Saturday's pay-per-view event in Chicago, said his injury was so severe it forced him to break his own rule ahead of the fight. 'Back in the days I've had pullouts, but somewhere along the line I said I'm not ever pulling out of a fight,' Green said in a video posted to his Instagram account Thursday afternoon. 'If I got to f***ing limp my ass there, I'll limp into the cage. I'm never pulling out. This one is a little bit different. I can't even f***ing walk, guys.' Green showed off his crutches in the video, but did not elaborate on specifics about the injury. Ferreira said he was midway through his weight cut when he was informed Green was out, but said he wasn't given a reason for the withdrawal. It's the second bout on the UFC 319 fight card to suffer a late scratch. The prelim fight between Rodrigo Sezinando and Daniil Donchenko that was to serve as the welterweight final of the most recent season of 'The Ultimate Fighter' was called off after Sezinando pulled out with a late injury. TUF 33, coached by Daniel Cormier and Chael Sonnen, still has a flyweight final between Alibi Idiris and Joseph Morales slated for the UFC 319 lineup. The welterweight final between Sezinando and Donchenko is expected to be rescheduled for later this year. As for Green, this fight was to be his attempt to snap a two-fight losing skid. The 38-year-old lightweight has lost three of his last four. There's no word yet on when he might be able to return to action, or whether the bout with Ferreira will be rescheduled. The current UFC 319 lineup now includes 13 bouts, with UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev serving as Saturday night's main event.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Dana White 'a little more skeptical' of Jon Jones than Conor McGregor for UFC White House
Two of the biggest stars in UFC's history have raised their hands to fight on the proposed White House card, but Dana White doesn't have the same level of trust that both would show up. The UFC is planning to host an event at the White House on July 4, 2026, as White has often discussed in recent weeks. He is expected to meet with U.S. president Donald Trump in the near future to show him their ideas and renderings for approval to proceed with planning what would be a logistical nightmare of an event. For an event that may or may not take place 11 months from now, White is more worried about the event coming together rather than who would be fighting. However, two of the UFC's biggest pay-per-view draws, Conor McGregor and Jon Jones, have thrown their names into the hat to be a part of the White House event. "I don't even start thinking about who's gonna fight at the White House until after January," White said on "The Jim Rome Show." The promotion CEO was then asked which fighter he trusts more to book and make it to the octagon for the event, Jones or McGregor. Both fighters have had their issues outside of the cage over the years, but White says he can trust "The Notorious" to fulfill his commitment more than "Bones." "I trust Conor," White said. "I trust Conor. Conor McGregor has never, ever – unless he was seriously injured – this guy has always delivered. "Jon, I'm a little more skeptical about." McGregor has not competed since breaking his leg in a trilogy bout against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021. Jones last competed at UFC 309 in November 2024, where he defended the heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic. Amid new legal issues and unwillingness to unify the title against then-interim champion Tom Aspinall, Jones announced his retirement. However, when the idea of a White House event popped up, Jones expressed interest and returned to the UFC's anti-doping testing pool. McGregor also recently joined the pool in order to be in compliance for competition by next July. Both fighters have recently submitted samples, according to the testing history website.
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Darren Till: Paddy Pimblett probably has best chance to beat UFC champion Ilia Topuria
Darren Till has a bold take on UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria's toughest challenge. UFC lightweight champion Topuria has been on a tear with three-straight knockouts over featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski, BMF champ Max Holloway, and most recently former champ Charles Oliveira at UFC 317. He has looked near flawless throughout his professional MMA career, displaying elite grappling and incredible knockout power. So who can be the one to hand Topuria (17-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) his first-career loss? Till says his fellow Liverpool native Pimblett (22-4 MMA, 7-0 UFC) can. "Paddy has probably got the best chance to beat Ilia, and I know it sounds ridiculous because I don't think Paddy's on his level in terms of skillset yet – he will get there," Till said in an interview with Compare Bet. "But I just think Paddy with his coaches and the way they strategize, and how big he is, and how sort of loose he is, I think Paddy has a great chance of beating Ilia Topuria. "A lot of people will be against that opinion, but I've said this for years about Paddy, people like to give Paddy sh*t, but he can fight. He's got a solid team around, and he obviously works hard because of the shape he gets in." Pimblett got the opportunity to face off with Topuria after "El Matador" claimed the vacant 155-pound title at UFC 317. With his best win coming over the skidding Michael Chandler at UFC 314, Pimblett's resume doesn't quite stack up with the rest of the top contenders such as Arman Tsarukyan – and Till is aware of that. "Whether you love or hate Paddy, and he's not a close friend by any sense of it, but you have to give Paddy props," Till said. "I know his opponents are questionable and the loss and stuff, but you can only fight who is in front of you. And people will say, 'He's getting built,' of course he's getting built. Like me, because we speak, we talk the talk, why wouldn't you build Paddy? Stop being a hater."
