Reinier de Ridder is preparing for his second outing inside the Octagon after joining the UFC last year.
His UFC debut may not have gone exactly to plan, though he did get his hand raised, but he plans on sending a much clearer message when he returns at UFC 311 against Kevin Holland.
The former two-weight titleholder in ONE Championship entered the UFC with a lot of expectations surrounding his arrival.
He was able to showcase his submission skills in his first outing by finishing Gerald Meerschaert in the third round last November but there was still a lot of room for improvement.
In an interview with MMA Junkie, he reflected on that performance and why his January 18th bout at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles will be different:
“At the end of the day, a fight is a fight, of course, and I’ve been in plenty of fights, so I know how to take care of that part of the deal,” de Ridder said. “There’s a lot going on behind the scenes, of course. I like Gerald a lot; I respected Gerald a lot coming into this one, so I didn’t go as full throttle from the bat as I will this fight. I’m just coming in to wreck this guy this time."
"The Dutch Knight" has drawn a fan favourite for his next middleweight match-up and whilst Holland is also a significant submission threat, he has struggled against grappling-heavy fighters in the past.
"Trailblazer" has gone 1-1 since making his return to 185-pounds where he was beaten by Roman Dolidze last time out following a slick submission win over Michał Oleksiejczuk in June.
“I’m very happy with the fight, of course,” de Ridder continued. “Kevin is a name, and it’s a quick turnaround, so I’m very happy about that. … He’s very wild on the feet. But I’m going to put a lot of pressure on him, hit him with some good shots, take him down, choke him out, hopefully.”
Watch the full interview below:
