Reinier de Ridder is ready to really battle for UFC title shot against Khamzat Chimaev

Reinier de Ridder is ready to beat Brendan Allen and quickly turn around to fight Khamzat Chimaev for the UFC middleweight championship.

Over the course of the last twelve months, Reinier de Ridder has been incredibly busy. Ever since entering the middleweight division, he made it his mission to speedrun his way to the UFC middleweight championship – in a similar fashion to Alex Pereira. Now, as he prepares to face Brendan Allen on short notice next month, it certainly feels like he’s on the verge of getting that title shot.

Reinier de Ridder is a fascinating talent and against Robert Whittaker, he had to overcome some real adversity in order to pick up the win over a former world champion. As for Khamzat Chimaev, he proved against Dricus du Plessis why he is seen as the best 185-pounder on the planet right now.

In a recent interview, Reinier de Ridder opened up on his plans in the next couple of months.

Reinier de Ridder is ready to prove himself again

“I don’t want to wait. I want to line myself up to fight maybe before Ramadan,” De Ridder told MMA Junkie Radio. “If Khamzat wants to fight before Ramadan, I want to be ready for that time. I want to fight right now, and the UFC wanted to keep me on the fight in Vancouver, so it worked out that way.”

“That was the fun thing about the ‘Fluffy’ matchup, as well: He would be a great dress rehearsal for the Khamzat fight because of his wrestling and the way he likes to get to the back, as well, pretty similar as Khamzat does, but we didn’t get that one,” De Ridder said. 

“But we just got a new batch of Chechen guys at the gym, so I’ve been working a lot on my wrestling with those guys over the last couple of weeks, and of course I’m already preparing for what the title fight is going to be like.”

Quotes via MMA Junkie