Former Two-Division ONE Champion Reinier De Ridder Set For UFC Debut in November

Former two-division champion at ONE Championship, Reinier De Ridder to make his highly anticipated UFC debut against veteran Gerald Meerschaert in UFC Vegas 100 event on Saturday, November 9 at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The Dutch mixed martial arts star, who parted ways with the ONE Championship earlier this year, inked a deal with the UFC recently and is all set to feature on the under card of the milestone-making Vegas event.

De Ridder, a former ONE Light Heavyweight and Middleweight champion, dropped both his belts to Anatoly Malykhin. The 34-year-old last competed at the UAE Warriors 51 in July this year, when he made light work of Magomedmurad Khasaev.

Reinier De Ridder MMA Career and Record

The 34-year-old began his professional mixed martial arts career in 2013, winning his first nine fights across various promotions before signing with ONE in 2019. He soon entered the title picture at the Singapore-based MMA promotion.

De Ridder won the ONE middleweight title just four fights into his ONE career in 2020, and then moved up a weight division to clinch the light heavyweight championship, becoming the third two-division champion in ONE Championship history.

In his 17-fight MMA career, "The Dutch Knight" De Ridder has lost just two fights with both those defeats coming against Malykhin. Among his 15 wins, De Ridder has 13 finishes - 4 knockouts and 11 submission wins so far.

Reinier De Ridder UFC Debut Opponent

In his first bow at UFC, he faces the established submission specialist Meerschaert in a middleweight bout. "GM3" is fresh off a come-from-behind, Performance of the Night submission win over Edmen Shahbazyan just last month.

Meerschaert finished 35 of his 37 wins as a pro with 29 of those coming by way of submission. He currently sits third all-time for the most submission wins in UFC history with 11. He now welcomes The Dutch Knight to the UFC. Here is a look at how the card looks for UFC Vegas 100:

UFC Vegas 100 Fight Card (As it stands)

• Middleweight Bout: Reinier de Ridder vs. Gerald Meerschaert
• Women's Strawweight Bout: Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs Denis Gomes
• Middleweight Bout: Mansur Abdul Malik vs Duško Todorović
• Middleweight Bout: Tresean Gore vs Antonio Tricoli
• Bantamweight Bout: Cody Gabrandt vs Miles Johns
• Women's Strawweight Bout: Luana Pinheiro vs Gillian Robertson