Reinier de Ridder made his UFC debut against veteran Gerald Meerschaert in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 100.
The Dutch Knight came in as one of the biggest signings in terms of name value in recent memory as he was a two-division champion in ONE Championship.
While it was strange to see a signing of this magnitude debut at the Apex, most people liked the matchup since Meerschaert represented a clear test to see what de Ridder had to offer against UFC opposition.
RDR is known as a dominant grappler despite coming from a nation that is more known for the kickboxers it produces like Bas Rutten, Alistair Overeem and Germaine de Randamie. With GM3’s forte also being in the grappling department, it was going to be interesting to see how their styles were going to clash. The fight ended up being a competitive, high-paced back-and-forth.
Meerschaert was winning the first round on the feet before de Ridder stole it with a knockdown in the dying seconds. The second round was a close grappling affair that I thought Meerschaert took in real time. When we got to round 3, GM3 appeared to be the more tired of the two and after a trip to take the fight to the ground, de Ridder locked up an arm-triangle that forced the tap out of the UFC veteran.
RDR had mentioned during media day that he wanted to make a statement. He understood that a win here wasn’t enough. The real contenders finish Meerschaert and that’s what he wanted to do. While he did ultimately get the finish, he had to work a whole lot more for it than he may have anticipated. Think about how Khamzat Chimaev and Joe Pyfer took care of GM3 compared to RDR. He outlasted Meerschaert and seemingly got a submission via exhaustion.
The former ONE double-champ was never known for his striking prowess, but seeing him look that uncomfortable on the feet against Meerschaert, someone who is often the second best striker anytime he gets inside the octagon, was still a big red flag when projecting him against the upper echelon of the division. While RDR looked quite bigger than Meerschaert, it didn’t feel like he was able to use his size to physically bully him at any time.
At 34-years-old, Reinier de Ridder cannot be taking too long to climb up the middleweight ladder. As a big name signee who should be in the prime years of his career, it will be intriguing to see how the UFC matchmakers interpret this win. Are they not convinced by what they saw and opt for another GM3-type test? Or do they tell themselves that at 34, it’s sink-or-swim time for RDR and they throw him a top 10 opponent next? Either options would be justifiable as this was a worrisome win, but a win nonetheless.
