De Ridder to put an end to 'American promise' Nickal
By Ilias Eldawoudy
Updated 01/05/2025 at 11:09 GMT+2

On Saturday, the only Dutchman in the UFC will be back in action. Reinier de Ridder will take on the talented Bo Nickal in Iowa. After this fight, 'RDR' hopes to finally get involved in the title race in the rock-solid middleweight division. In the run-up to the fight, we spoke to De Ridder about his training camp, a possible move to the US and the ever-increasing pressure.

Reinier de Ridder after victory over Kevin Holland

Photo: Getty Images

Kill Cliff
It is the second time that De Ridder completes his entire training camp in the United States. In Miami he trains at the renowned gym Kill Cliff FC, which is run by fellow countryman Henri Hooft. Kill Cliff is known as the home base of established names such as Gilbert Burns, Michael Chandler and Shavkat Rakhmonov.
"The biggest difference with training at home is the level and the large amount of good fighters here," De Ridder explains. "There is an endless supply of professionals, all in my weight class or heavier. I can spar with strong guys every day."

Moving to America
De Ridder feels so much at home in Florida now that he is considering settling there permanently. 'We are already looking at schools for the children for next year. If everything goes well, we will start with a year and see how it goes. I love Breda and will always come back there, but fighting is really better here. The training is so good and you are close to the fire if a match pops up at short notice.'
Nickal
During UFC Fight Night in Des Moines he will face Bo Nickal, the wrestling phenomenon who has been undefeated in seven matches since his switch to MMA, six of which he managed to finish. Still, De Ridder is not impressed.
"He's a very good wrestler and has learned a lot in a short time. His footwork is okay, his boxing is not bad and he kicks a little. But it's all not spectacular. He's good, but he still has steps to make."
According to De Ridder, the hype surrounding Nickal is mainly due to his image as a great American promise. He himself is determined to put an end to that. 'Eventually I'm going to find his neck and choke him.'

Only Dutchman
De Ridder hopes to extend his winning streak in the UFC to three via Nickal and thus climb further in the middleweight rankings. He is the only Dutchman who has managed to book such successes at the highest level in recent years. Although he has been active in the MMA world for a long time, he remained relatively unknown among the Dutch public for a long time. He was previously champion in two weight classes at ONE Championship, but he has only really been recognized since his switch to the UFC.
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UFC 311 | "Give me someone from the top 5" - Reinier de Ridder

Video credit: Eurosport

'The attention keeps growing in the Netherlands. I'm even recognized in Breda. That's really special. I haven't experienced that in recent years.' Due to the recent support, he feels more and more strongly that he represents the Netherlands on the highest podium.