Des Moines, IA — Reinier de Ridder feels that early on, some of UFC Des Moines’ opponent Bo Nickal’s competition was “not that good at that point.”
But when it comes to Nickal’s last outing at least, which saw the American wrestler earn a unanimous decision victory against Paul Craig, the improvements were there.
“Last one was not the greatest fight you’ve ever seen, but he did very well. Showed that he’d been working on his boxing,” de Ridder (19-2) told media outlets including Cageside Press during Wednesday’s UFC Des Moines media day. “His footwork was decent, his striking is pretty decent. Talented kid. Very explosive, pretty athletic I think. Time to get choked.”
A former ONE Championship double-champ himself, de Ridder, known as “The Dutch Knight,” has won his first two UFC fights. Nickal remains a perfect 7-0 as a pro, but despite looking better in his last outing, his performance against Craig has given Reinier de Ridder a confidence boost.
“It gave me a lot of confidence, that I don’t want another fight like that. This is not going to be a fight like that,” stated de Ridder. “I’m going to get close, I’m going to hit him with some good stuff, we’ll make this a nice fight for everybody I think.”
Commenting on the match-up and his reaction to it, de Ridder later admitted that “I was surprised at first. I didn’t really expect that fight at all.” Still, he sees it as an entertaining pairing in terms of style. “I think for style-wise, it can be a very interesting one. To see a lot of cool wrestling scrambles, to see a lot of cool jiu-jitsu in this one.”
Then there’s the added benefit of Nickal being a three-time NCAA Division I wrestling champion. That collegiate career made Nickal an instant sensation when he crossed over to MMA. “I’m happy that he’s a very popular guy here in America, he’s the Great American Hope at the moment. So I was happy with the match-up, was happy with the time frame, another one in a short period,” stated de Ridder, whose career in ONE Championship was marred by inactivity towards the end. “This will be my third fight in about six months. So I’m doing good, I’m happy.”
Watch Reinier de Ridder’s full UFC Des Moines media day appearance above.
