TLDR
- Reinier de Ridder faces Roman Dolidze at UFC Sacramento in his light heavyweight debut after losing two straight at middleweight
- De Ridder blames difficult weight cuts to 185 pounds for his recent losses to Brendan Allen and Caio Borralho
- Both fighters are moving up from middleweight to the 205-pound division
- De Ridder won titles at both middleweight and light heavyweight in ONE Championship before joining the UFC
- The Dutch fighter says cutting 20 fewer pounds will allow him to grapple more and fight more frequently
Sources: mmajunkie.usatoday.com | mmasucka.com
Reinier de Ridder will make his UFC light heavyweight debut Saturday night against Roman Dolidze at UFC Fight Night 285 in Sacramento, California. The Dutch fighter is moving up from middleweight after losing his last two fights.
De Ridder told reporters he blames the weight cuts to 185 pounds for his recent struggles. “No, it’s mostly the weight cut,” de Ridder said when asked about lessons from his losing streak.
The former ONE Championship double champion lost to Brendan Allen by TKO in late 2024 and dropped a decision to Caio Borralho earlier this year. Those losses ended a four-fight winning streak that began with his UFC debut.
De Ridder says cutting 20 fewer pounds will allow him to perform at his best. “In the last fight, I wasn’t able to push as hard as I would have liked to,” he explained. “I wasn’t able to grapple as much, and I’m going to just get back to all the stuff I’m good at on Saturday night.”
Reinier De Ridder 💪🏼 pic.twitter.com/4eKLq7HG3P
— Kimura (@kimurasport) August 19, 2026
Both Fighters Moving Up From Middleweight
Dolidze also competed at middleweight before making the move to 205 pounds. He holds a 15-5 record overall and went 9-5 in the UFC as a middleweight contender.
De Ridder called it a “perfect matchup” that gives him time to add more muscle mass. He didn’t hold back when describing his approach to the fight: “I’m just going to kill this motherf*cker.”
The Dutch fighter believes he was close to title contention before his two losses set him back. He now plans to rebuild his momentum at light heavyweight.
De Ridder has experience competing at 205 pounds from his time in ONE Championship. He won both the middleweight and light heavyweight titles in that organization, though ONE’s middleweight division is at 205 pounds.
Plans for Active Schedule at New Weight Class
The 34-year-old fighter says the smaller weight cut will allow him to fight more frequently. “Yeah, at this rate, because I’m going to be able to recover much better,” de Ridder said about staying active.
He told UFC on Paramount that he pushed his body too far at middleweight. “Too many weight cuts, too many training camps in too short of a period of time,” de Ridder explained.
De Ridder says he has been able to eat properly during this training camp. “I’ve been able to push hard twice a day for eight weeks now,” he said. “And I’m gonna show that off Saturday.”
He believes a spectacular finish against Dolidze will earn him a top-10 opponent next. “If I can put him away spectacularly, I’ll be fighting a top-10 guy next,” de Ridder said.
De Ridder joins other former middleweights who recently moved to light heavyweight. Robert Whittaker, who defeated de Ridder by decision last year, made a successful light heavyweight debut recently. Paulo Costa also found success after moving up to 205 pounds.
The fight takes place Saturday at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. The main card airs on Paramount+.
