Reinier de Ridder is prepared for a recent begin after leaving his former residence at ONE Championship and inking a deal to affix the UFC roster.
There’s no secret that issues gotten contentious between the Singapore based mostly promotion and several 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 every job, de Ridder says there was good and unhealthy about his years spent in ONE Championship however he undoubtedly 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 properly,” de Ridder advised MMA Preventing. “I believe they’re struggling in a way and a few stuff is just not being dealt with the best way it needs to be however it’s what it’s.
“I had an excellent run to start with. They gave me a whole lot of fights. In ONE, I used to be in a position to 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 thrice in 2022, de Ridder’s exercise dwindled with out a single struggle 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 underneath the ONE umbrella however his exercise was clearly far better earlier in his profession.
When his contract ended, de Ridder fought as soon as for UAE Warriors earlier than signing his deal to affix the UFC roster. He by no means knew for sure if he was going to struggle 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 glad, very psyched, it’s cool.
“It’s the league all of us look as much as. Each fighter needs to struggle within the UFC. Each fan needs to look at UFC. It’s been requested a whole lot 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 completely different choices. However while you begin preventing, while you begin this loopy profession, all people needs to struggle 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 acquired 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 at all times acquired some traction. Individuals appreciated it and revered it.
“However now I simply began once more. So I’m going struggle unranked once more [in UFC] and it’s a much 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 adjustments that he’s really enthusiastic about now that he’s with the UFC.
“The UFC is the UFC after all, so it was at all times the objective,” de Ridder stated. “At all times at the back of my thoughts. There’s a whole lot of completely different perks over ONE. Subsequent to that, the load factor is a little more clear, there’s drug testing. It’s simply higher.”
Relating to weight lessons, ONE really instituted a lot completely 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 completely different than these in different promotions.
For example, de Ridder beforehand reigned as champion at each middleweight and lightweight heavyweight however in ONE middleweight is from 185 to 205 kilos whereas gentle heavyweight is 205 to 225 kilos. In organizations just like the UFC, middleweight stops at 185 kilos earlier than shifting as much as gentle heavyweight.
De Ridder says the early implementation of the hydration testing and the load class adjustments had been good at ONE however over time he feels this system simply didn’t work.
“The thought of the hydration check was wonderful,” de Ridder stated. “To start with, they’d some secondary measures to make sure that you actually had been round that weight while you fought as properly. 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 technique to negate the load reduce. There’s a technique to cease all of the fighters from reducing weight however the hydration check is just not sufficient, as you’ve seen.”
Relating to drug testing, ONE Championship really 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 underneath 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 somewhat than later along with his first struggle 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 achieved and serving to him e-book a struggle and de Ridder guarantees that he’s going to soak in each facet 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 properly. I’ve at all times been a little bit of a hater with all of the interviews and all of the folks coming as much as me and asking me stuff. However I’m making an attempt to bit extra grateful about these things.”
