UFC veteran Reinier de Ridder has taken a look back at his tenure in the promotion’s middleweight division.
In the co-main event of UFC Sacramento, Reinier de Ridder will go head to head with Roman Dolidze as he makes his official jump up to the light heavyweight division. While there was a period of time when RDR looked like a legitimate title contender at 185 pounds, two losses to Brendan Allen and Caio Borralho set him back quite a bit.
RELATED: Reinier de Ridder makes weight change following UFC 326 loss to Caio Borralho: “I’m coming at 205”
Now, de Ridder wants to use his showdown with Dolidze to prove that a change in weight class is just what the doctor ordered.
In a recent interview, de Ridder spoke openly about what went wrong at middleweight.
de Ridder discusses middleweight run
“Middleweight is still great – a lot of cool stuff going on there – but I’m never going back,” de Ridder told MMA Junkie Radio. “It’s over: 205 is my home.”
“I’m very happy with what happened,” de Ridder said. “But if I would have been a bit more honest with myself, making 185 pounds six times in a little bit over a year is just the dumbest sh*t I’ve ever done. It’s not real, and I think it’s time to figure something out with this whole weight cut thing, anyway, because this limits us fighters so much toward activity. It’s so weird we ended up here. Everyone cuts 10 percent of their body weight. Everybody is compromised when they fight. Why are we still doing this sh*t?”
Quotes via MMA Junkie
What do you believe that RDR can achieve now that he’s competing at light heavyweight? What was your favorite performance of his at middleweight? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, BJEPNN Nation!
