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.”
Nickal picked up his most notable win to date when he defeated Paul Craig by unanimous decision at UFC 309. Nickal opted not to shoot a single takedown and only strike, but De Ridder hopes the standout wrestler doesn’t shy away from his bread and butter in their fight.
“I feel my wrestling is pretty decent, as well,” De Ridder said. “I really want to make him wrestle this time. Last fight he was just sticking and moving, throwing that wild overhand of his, and trying to make sure he didn’t wrestle at all. But let’s make it a wrestling match this time, see if we can get him to shoot a couple of times, see if I can get his neck.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 67.
