VANCOUVER, British Columbia — UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev seems unstoppable. Few fighters have so much as inconvenienced Chimaev, but Reinier de Ridder believes he has a deep bag of tricks to trap the champ.
De Ridder makes final preparations for UFC Fight Night in Vancouver. A win over Brendan Allen on Saturday is imperative to keep him in the title picture. De Ridder, a former two-division ONE Championship titleholder, has trained with Chimaev. De Ridder knows that beating Chimaev is no small feat, but thinks his submission skills and volume striking can overwhelm the reigning champion.
“Skill-wise, I’ll be a good match,” De Ridder told CBS Sports. “I might be able to take him down and put him on his back. That’s a position we haven’t seen him in yet. We might end up striking more than he has in his previous fights. I think if he takes me down, I’m very dangerous off my back. I have some cool tricks there. If I end up on top, I think I have a good chance of choking him.”
De Ridder is racing to close the gap between him and fellow contender Nassourdine Imavov. No. 2-ranked Imavov recently beat Caio Borralho and has a knockout win over former champion Israel Adesanya. A win over Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez, De Ridder’s original opponent, was De Ridder’s best chance to make a case over Imavov. Some analysts perceive Hernandez as the best equipped to match Chimaev’s relentlessness.
Unfortunately, Hernandez was forced off Saturday’s card. Replacing Hernandez is Brendan Allen, who recently lost to “Fluffy” and Imavov by unanimous decision. De Ridder will have a harder time converting a win over Allen into an immediate title shot, but believes the opportunity still exists.
“It still means something beating him,” De Ridder said. “He had close fights with Imavov and ‘Fluffy.’ At least he has history with top guys. I think if I’m the first guy, of the three, to finish him, that means something.”
Check out the full interview with Reinier de Ridder below.
Imavov will have an open-and-shut case as the top contender. However, De Ridder is still in the conversation with a win. UFC’s busy event calendar requires readily available challengers. Few fighters have been as active as De Ridder, who competes for the fifth time in 11 months. De Ridder will be only the eighth UFC fighter to win four fights in a calendar year should he beat Allen this weekend.
