"It is a cool matchup" - Reinier de Ridder gets real on potential Khamzat Chimaev vs. Alex Pereira clash, talks about his title chances

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Reinier de Ridder shared his thoughts on Khamzat Chimaev’s pursuit of Alex Pereira. The Dutch star headlines this weekend’s UFC Vancouver card and believes he has a chance of fighting for the middleweight crown soon.

Chimaev is the current UFC middleweight champion, but would have to move up a weight class to face Pereira.

While speaking to Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie, ‘RdR’ was keen on how this fight would go, but admitted that he didn’t see it happening anytime soon.

“To be honest, first thing I thought was ‘well this is bulls***’ but it is a cool matchup. It is a cool matchup to see if Khamzat can get him down and stay safe. But, I don’t see it happening.”

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Check out Reinier de Ridder’s comments below:

Chimaev has been on a tear since coming to the UFC and is undefeated in his MMA career. ‘Borz’ defeated Dricus du Plessis to become the middleweight champion and immediately called out Pereira.

Pereira recently reclaimed the UFC light heavyweight crown by defeating Magomed Ankalaev. This was a rematch from UFC 313, where Ankalaev defeated the Brazilian and shocked the world.

Reinier de Ridder expects a title shot in 2026

The Dutch star, in the same interview, was told that Pereira wanted to move up to heavyweight. This would certainly throw a spanner in the works of Chimaev’s plans, and de Ridder believed this is why the Chimaev vs. Pereira fight would not happen.

The 35-year-old further claimed that if he defeated his rival this weekend, Brendan Allen, he would get a title shot next year.

“I don’t think that’s going to happen. I imagine if I do well this weekend, I'm able to put Brendan away, I'll be fighting for the belt early 2026.”

It has been a great start to de Ridder’s UFC career, with the 35-year-old winning all his fights. Reinier de Ridder’s last two wins have come against big names.

He defeated the highly-touted Bo Nickal and then got the biggest win of his UFC career by beating former champion Robert Whittaker.

Another win would firmly put de Ridder’s name into the title scene, but Chimaev will be a stern test for any challenger.

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About the author

Saiyed Adeem Karim

Saiyed Adeem Karim is the MMA CM for Sportskeeda and started his sportswriting journey right here.

He started his career working for one of India's biggest FMCG companies. He has also worked in creative agencies, and several of his copies have been used in a range of promotions and advertisements.

Saiyed has written for several football sites between his SK stints. He also wrote WWE and MMA articles before managing teams at Mediareferee/Soccersouls.

When he isn't managing the MMA and Boxing teams at SK, Saiyed tries to relax by playing a ton of FIFA and Racing games.

Saiyed is also a big football and F1 fan and has been supporting Liverpool and McLaren since the late 90s.

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