Reinier de Ridder recently called for a middleweight title shot against Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 321. de Ridder has been on an impressive run since joining the UFC and believes he deserves the first shot against Chimaev.
Chimaev captured the middleweight championship with a dominant unanimous decision win over Dricus du Plessis at UFC 319 last Saturday. After the bout, ‘Borz’ stated that defending his title at UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi would interest him.
UFC 321 is scheduled for Oct. 25. and is set to be headlined by a heavyweight title fight between Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane. If Chimaev is added to the card, he would slot into the co-main event.
de Ridder makes a strong case for a title shot. The former ONE Championship double champ has already racked up three wins this year. He submitted Kevin Holland, stopped Bo Nickal with a 2nd round TKO, and edged out Robert Whittaker via split decision.
During a recent appearance on Submission Radio, de Ridder responded to Chimaev’s interest in fighting at UFC 321. He made it clear he would be fully prepared to fight him.
“I’ll be 100 percent ready [for October],” de Ridder said. “I’m still in shape, I didn’t stop training. I did eat a little bit too much, but I can adjust that very quickly as well. And I will 100 percent be ready for that opportunity [to challenge Chimaev].”
His comments didn’t go unnoticed. Chimaev replied on X, suggesting the matchup could be gaining steam for UFC 321.
Reinier de Ridder Confident Ahead of Potential Title Fight Against Khamzat Chimaev
de Ridder believes he matches well against Chimaev. He pointed to his high-level grappling as a key advantage in the potential title fight.
Speaking with Submission Radio, de Ridder said he has the tools to handle wherever the fight goes. He feels confident even if Chimaev manages to take him down like he did against du Plessis.
“I believe I’m a very big challenge for [Chimaev],” de Ridder said. “If I get taken down, perfect, if I take him down, perfect, if we’re still standing, also great. I think I have a good chance of doing well in this fight and I really hope we could get it done.”
He continued with a warning about his ground game:
“I have some sneaky stuff from the bottom, I think I can really make it hard on him once I put him on back.”
de Ridder Still Not Convinced About Chimaev’s Cardio Improvements
Although Chimaev looked strong at UFC 319, de Ridder still questions whether his cardio has fully evolved.
Cardio has long been considered Chimaev’s weak spot. In past fights, he has faded as the rounds progressed. While ‘Borz’ showed better cardio against du Plessis, de Ridder isn’t convinced he has proven that he improved.
“Maybe [Chimaev] just worked out some stuff and got better at this part of the game,” de Ridder said. “I think he he needs to be tested a bit more to be able to say more about how his cardio is. But, it looked decent at least because of the control he got. He was very impressive.”
With UFC 321 fast approaching, Chimaev could have a chance to silence his doubters once and for all.
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