The spirit of Joe Rogan quickly turned to what the next step is after the Main Event of UFC 319.
The UFC legend noted from Cageside when Khamzat Chimaev became the Champion Middle Weight on Saturday evening.
Dricus Du Plessis hardly landed a glove on the 15-0 Russian during their five-round collision in Chicago.
The pure dominance of the performance immediately let Joe Rogan look for the 185LB division for a competition that could give the new title holder a decent fight.
Photo by Ed Mulholland/Zuffa LLC
Joe Rogan speaks in the middleweight competition
There is no clear hunter who is the next one to face Khamzat Chimaev in his first title defense.
The 31-year-old and Dana White have shown an interest that he will return to UFC 321 on 26 October.
After the fight, Joe Rogan suggested that Reinier de Ridder is the most compelling opponent for the next UFC match of Chimaev.
“In particular Reinier de Ridder, in view of his ability to struggle on the ground, and also his ability to land shots, in particular the knee he lands. That is filthy,” Rogan said, discussing the list of potential opponents of Chimaev.
“Toughness, experience, he throws those combinations with that long walk -in knee. He is interesting.”
Reinier de Ridder's UFC -Run
Reinier de Ridder is at #5 in the middleweight division after a four-fighter run in the Octagon.
The former two -weight one champion made the switch to the most important promotion of MMA in 2024.
The UFC career of De Ridder started with back-to-back entry victories on Gerald Meerschaert and Kevin Holland.
In May the 34-year-old made it easy when he became the first man to defeat Bo Nickal in MMA.
De Ridder Ko'd Nickal with a knee in the body and hits the UFC des Moines Co-Main event.
Two months later, De Ridder Robert Whittaker surpassed a career-best UFC victory in Abu Dhabi.
It was believed that he would need a big win before he got a chance at the ultimate prize of MMA.
And perhaps, but Chimaev's need for an opponent as quickly as possible, in combination with Rogan's support, De Ridder may see the queue skip on 185 pounds.