Reinier de Ridder is prepared for a recent begin after leaving his former residence at ONE Championship and inking a deal to hitch the UFC roster.
There’s no secret that issues gotten contentious between the Singapore primarily based promotion and a number of other fighters over the previous couple of years however de Ridder isn’t making an attempt to bash his former employers now that he has a brand new residence. Like several job, de Ridder says there was good and unhealthy about his years spent in ONE Championship however he positively knew it was time for a change.
“It’s been good for a very long time and it’s been unhealthy for a reasonably very long time now as nicely,” de Ridder informed MMA Preventing. “I believe they’re struggling in a way and a few stuff just isn’t being dealt with the way in which it must be however it’s what it’s.
“I had an excellent run at first. They gave me a variety of fights. In ONE, I used to be capable of make it a full time factor with preventing. So I’m very grateful for that half. However the final couple of years weren’t that nice.”
After preventing 3 times in 2022, de Ridder’s exercise dwindled and not using a single battle in 2023 after which solely competing as soon as in 2024 earlier than in the end leaving the promotion. He did make an look in 2023 for a grappling match below the ONE umbrella however his exercise was clearly far higher earlier in his profession.
When his contract ended, de Ridder fought as soon as for UAE Warriors earlier than signing his deal to hitch the UFC roster. He by no means knew for sure if he was going to battle for the UFC however de Ridder admits each fighter desires about that chance at one time or one other.
“I’m trying ahead to getting in there,” de Ridder stated about his UFC debut. “Wanting ahead to getting some exercise. I’m very pleased, very psyched, it’s cool.
“It’s the league all of us look as much as. Each fighter desires to battle within the UFC. Each fan desires to observe UFC. It’s been requested a variety of instances through the years so it’s very cool to lastly be there. After all, it was clear I wasn’t going to maintain going with ONE. However there have been totally different choices. However if you begin preventing, if you begin this loopy profession, everyone desires to battle within the UFC. I’m attending to the later levels of my profession so this was the second to both go get it or by no means do it once more. I needed to go to UFC.”
Regardless of holding two titles concurrently in ONE, de Ridder admits the announcement that he signed with UFC obtained him extra consideration than something he skilled along with his former promotion.
“That’s the loopy half,” de Ridder stated. “I went by means of each stage of an MMA fighter’s profession. I went from unranked to title challenger to two-division champion and it all the time obtained some traction. Individuals appreciated it and revered it.
“However now I simply began another time. So I am going battle unranked once more [in UFC] and it’s an even bigger deal than turning into a two-division champion. It’s humorous.”
So far as the largest variations between the 2 organizations, de Ridder pointed to a pair of modifications that he’s truly enthusiastic about now that he’s with the UFC.
“The UFC is the UFC in fact, so it was all the time the aim,” de Ridder stated. “All the time at the back of my thoughts. There’s a variety of totally different perks over ONE. Subsequent to that, the load factor is a little more clear, there’s drug testing. It’s simply higher.”
In relation to weight lessons, ONE truly instituted a lot totally different guidelines than these utilized by the UFC or different promotions in the US. ONE has hydration testing in hopes of curbing excessive weight cuts and the divisions there have been altered so each weight class is definitely totally different than these in different promotions.
As an illustration, de Ridder beforehand reigned as champion at each middleweight and lightweight heavyweight however in ONE middleweight is from 185 to 205 kilos whereas mild heavyweight is 205 to 225 kilos. In organizations just like the UFC, middleweight stops at 185 kilos earlier than shifting as much as mild heavyweight.
De Ridder says the early implementation of the hydration testing and the load class modifications had been good at ONE however over time he feels this system simply didn’t work.
“The concept of the hydration check was superb,” de Ridder stated. “To start with, they’d some secondary measures to ensure that you actually had been round that weight if you fought as nicely. However through the years, these had been eroded a bit and the blokes simply stored getting greater and I used to be the one dummy who nonetheless made the 93kgs (205 kilos) with breakfast and a few water. Some stuff’s modified there on this level.
“Look I’m not trying ahead to the load reduce and there may be nonetheless a option to negate the load reduce. There’s a option to cease all of the fighters from slicing weight however the hydration check just isn’t sufficient, as you’ve seen.”
In relation to drug testing, ONE Championship truly acknowledged way back to 2019 that athletes had been being examined however de Ridder says his greater issues got here all the way down to the out-of-competition testing required below the UFC’s anti-doping program.
“On this regard, the UFC is the place to go,” de Ridder stated. “America is the place to be for preventing clear athletes. That’s simply higher.”
Maybe what he’s happiest about along with his transfer is that the 34-year-old Dutch fighter is getting again to enterprise sooner quite than later along with his first battle within the UFC booked for Nov. 9 in opposition to Gerald Meerschaert.
He pays credit score to his supervisor Ali Abdelaziz for losing no time getting the deal performed and serving to him e-book a battle and de Ridder guarantees that he’s going to soak in each side of this chance.
“I’m very, very grateful for this,” de Ridder stated. “Ali is working his magic.
“It’s fairly cool. That is one thing I put my thoughts to, to attempt to take pleasure in all these things as nicely. I’ve all the time been a little bit of a hater with all of the interviews and all of the individuals coming as much as me and asking me stuff. However I’m making an attempt to bit extra grateful about these things.”
