UFC Middleweight Star Bo Nickal ran Motivation by Reinier de Ridder's victory over UFC Abu Dhabi.
The former two-division champion Reinier de Ridder continued his rapid climb in the UFC Middleweight Division with a direct classic fight at UFC Abu Dhabi.
The knight and former title holder Robert Whittaker had a back and forth war in one of the best fights of the year in UFC Abu Dhabi. Despite the fact that he was dropped in round 2 with a large Whittaker judge, the knight was able to shake the spider webs and to grind to a decision victory.
After UFC Abu Dhabi, De Ridder collected rave reviews from around MMA, including one of his former rivals.
Photo by Fadel Senna/AFP via Getty images
Bo Nickal responds to Reinier de Ridder's victory at UFC Abu Dhabi while calling for Rematch
Before he released Whittaker at UFC Abu Dhabi, De Ridder earned a shocking victory over the previously unbeaten Bo -Nickal at UFC des Moines. De Ridder took out Nickal and handed the former NCAA Division I Wrestling Superstar the first setback of his MMA career.
In a recent post to X, Nickal De Ridder congratulated with his victory as he called him for a rematch.
“Congratulations on RDR, that was a great fight. Title shot then,” tweeted Nickal.
“I still have a long, long way to go, but I will continue to improve, get better and maybe we will ever repeat.”
Despite the nickal plea for the UFC to give De Ridder the next middleweight title shot, the former champion will have to wait for the result of the upcoming UFC 319 headliner. Caio Borralho and Nassourdine Imavov will collide later this year in a no. 1 competition in UFC Paris.
Reinier de Ridder's next fight in the air after UFC Abu Dhabi
The next opponent of De Ridder could be a former UFC champion that was currently suspended indefinitely; Sean Strickland. Strickland, who has not fought since a title Rematch loss for Dricus du Plessis on UFC 312, was suspended indefinitely by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for storming the cage during a Tuff-Up event earlier this year.
De Ridder will almost certainly get a top 5 opponent for his next fight after beating Whittaker on Saturday. Israel Adesanya is another intriguing option, but Adesanya comes from three consecutive losses for Strickland, Imavov and Du Plessis.
Regarding the UFC return time line of Nickal, the matchmakers have not announced his return date and opponent from this letter. In the meantime, Nickal will return to Freestyle Wrestling later this year while waiting for his next UFC assignment.
Du Plessis will defend his UFC Middleweight title against Khamzat Chimaev next month at UFC 319. During the UFC Abu Dhabi broadcast, Aaron Pico vs. Lerone Murphy announced for the UFC 319 Co-Main event.