Reinier de Ridder is devastated that he won’t get the chance to face Anthony Hernandez inside the Octagon.
De Ridder (21-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) had been scheduled to meet Hernandez (15-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) in the main event of UFC Vancouver on October 18. With both fighters riding impressive winning streaks, the matchup had been billed as a potential No. 1 contender bout at 185 pounds.
However, Hernandez withdrew last week due to injury, leaving “RDR” in need of a new opponent. Paulo Costa (15-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) was floated as a possible replacement, but the Brazilian revealed he had only agreed to face de Ridder in a three-round fight and was unwilling to commit to five rounds.
Matchmakers ultimately booked Brendan Allen (25-7 MMA, 13-4 UFC) instead. While de Ridder is grateful to remain on the card at Rogers Arena next month, he admits he’s disappointed to miss out on the chance to face Hernandez.
"It was a big letdown. It was a shame," De Ridder told MMA Junkie. "He really has a cool skill set, 'Fluffy' has, and he came in with a lot of hype, so I was very sad he pulled out. And there were a couple of days I didn't expect anyone to step up at all to be honest. Nobody wanted to fight. We tried Costa, but Costa wanted on his own terms, so that didn't happen. I'm very, very grateful that Brendan took the call."
Both de Ridder and Allen train at the same location, sharing the mats at Kill Cliff in Florida. While they have crossed paths in the gym, de Ridder says that they haven’t actually trained together.
"We never really trained much," de Ridder said. "He was never that welcoming to me, so I never really wanted to work with him.
"I like everybody. I'm not somebody to hold a grudge at all. I train with all the middleweights, but he never wanted to train with me. I don't know why."
