De Ridder moves to light heavyweight, eyes fast title track at UFC
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- Reinier de Ridder makes his UFC light heavyweight debut against Roman Dolidze at UFC Fight Night on Saturday, moving up after consecutive middleweight losses to Brendan Allen and Caio Borralho.
- De Ridder blamed his collapse against Allen on too many weight cuts and training camps in too short a time, telling CBS Sports he 'pushed my body too far' after four wins in seven months.
- De Ridder held ONE Championship titles in two divisions under a structure that let him fight considerably heavier, and at 6-foot-4 he says he'll be 'a little bit taller' than most 205-pounders — making him part of a broader middleweight-to-light-heavyweight migration alongside Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa.
- Roman Dolidze is making the same 185-to-205 jump, giving De Ridder a familiar-sized opponent while he adds mass: 'I'll try to put on more kilos after the fight,' de Ridder said.
- Paulo Costa is approaching the top five at light heavyweight after knocking out Azamat Murzakanov, and de Ridder teased a future bout by noting 'Paulo only does well against southpaws' — conceding with a grin that he is one.
- De Ridder, 35, believes a spectacular win over Dolidze puts him one top-10 fight from a title shot: 'If I do well and put guys away like I know I can, I think I'll be close to fighting for a title soon.'
Why it matters: De Ridder's jump from 185 to 205 is part of a wave — Whittaker and Costa have already made the same move — that could reshape a thin light heavyweight division by importing championship-tested veterans from a stacked middleweight class. For de Ridder personally, beating Dolidze likely earns him a top-10 booking and a credible path to a UFC title shot he was weeks from reaching before the Allen collapse.
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