Reinier de Ridder welcomes Bo Nickal’s wrestling at UFC on ESPN 67.
De Ridder (19-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC) meets Nickal (7-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) in a three-round middleweight bout May 3 at UFC on ESPN 67 from Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa. After submitting Kevin Holland at UFC 311 in January, the former ONE Championship champion called out multiple top contenders, including Khamzat Chimaev. While he didn’t get his wish, he still sees value in a win over Nickal.
“I’m happy with the fight,” De Ridder told MMA Junkie Radio. “It’s a good one. It’s not what I asked for. I asked for a top-five guy, but I think he’s a top-five name, right? He’s a very popular guy here in the States, and yeah, I’m happy with the matchup. See if we can make him grapple a bit, see if we can make him wrestle a bit. I think whatever happens, I might steal the spotlight in this one.”
