It was a rough night at the office for UFC middleweight contender Reinier de Ridder, to say the least.
De Ridder (21-4 MMA) suffered a major setback in Saturday’s UFC Vancouver main event against Brendan Allen, as he was unable to continue after his corner threw in the towel following Round 4’s conclusion.
De Ridder didn’t seem to be in the right mindset either, struggling against Allen’s wrestling and unable to use his potent striking ability to set up an opportunity for a KO/TKO win, as he had done six months earlier in Des Moines against rising contender Bo Nickal (7-1 MMA).
Not only did the fight not go according to plan for de Ridder, who initially was scheduled to fight Anthony Hernandez before Hernandez withdrew, but de Ridder wasn’t even 100 percent healthy.
Like when Alex Pereira (13-3 MMA) relinquished his championship against Magomed Ankalaev (21-2, 1 NC MMA) in March at UFC 313, de Ridder took to social media Sunday morning to reveal the root of his issues entering his fight with Allen.
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Devastated by the loss. Battled norovirus all week, could hardly stand, and broke my hand in Round 1, making it tough to fight. Gave everything I had. @SStricklandMMA, I’m coming for that middleweight belt. Let’s do this! 👊 🔥
— Reinier De Ridder (@DeridderMMA) October 19, 2025
Oct 18, 2025; Vancouver, BC, CANADA; Reinier De Ridder (red gloves) fights Brendan Allen (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Simon Fearn-Imagn Images / Simon Fearn-Imagn Images
“Devastated by the loss. Battled norovirus all week, could hardly stand, and broke my hand in Round 1, making it tough to fight,” de Ridder wrote. “Gave everything I had. [Sean Strickland], I’m coming for that middleweight belt. Let’s do this!”
A glaring issue regarding a fight between de Ridder and Strickland, though, is that it would be a contender’s fight at middleweight. Strickland has not been a champion since January of last year, losing his title to Dricus du Plessis. A little over a year later, the same outcome occurred in the rematch, as du Plessis won a decision over Strickland in February.
If de Ridder were to fight for the title, though, it would be against Khamzat Chimaev. Chimaev (15-0 MMA) became the new champion in August with a decision win over du Plessis (23-3 MMA) to top the UFC’s first trip back to Chicago since 2019.
Oct 18, 2025; Vancouver, BC, CANADA; Reinier De Ridder (red gloves) fights Brendan Allen (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Simon Fearn-Imagn Images / Simon Fearn-Imagn Images
De Ridder’s loss to Allen (26-7 MMA) was his first in the UFC, having gone over a year without a blemish, and he was thought to be a near-lock to fight for the title in the very near future.
For now, though, those plans will have to be put on hold as de Ridder attempts to get healthy entering next year. Nonetheless, though, the division remains loaded with contenders and plenty of fresh matchups for fans to get excited about moving forward.
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