UFC CEO Dana White expressed a willingness to grant Chimaev his wish if he's serious about it. If it comes to fruition, de Ridder thinks he is the correct contender to be standing on the other side of the cage.

His jiu-jitsu pedigree, with 70% of his 21-2 record by submission, backs his confidence. De Ridder’s recent UFC wins, including a split decision over Robert Whittaker in July 2025, make him a top contender.

Reinier de Ridder recently called for a middleweight title shot against Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 321. de Ridder has been on an impressive run

Whittaker, who was quickly submitted by Chimaev at UFC 308, went on to lose his second-straight fight to Reinier de Ridder (21-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) last month in the UFC on ABC 9 headliner. De Ridder was able to survive a Round 3 knockdown to outlast Whittaker.

UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev has made it crystal clear that he's interested in fighting Reinier de Ridder in his next fight.

Reinier de Ridder wasn't impressed with Dricus du Plessis' performance against Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319. The No.5-ranked middleweight contender watched the action from cageside in Chicago.

Reinier de Ridder picked up the biggest win of his career on Saturday when he took a hard-fought split decision over former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker in the main event of UFC Fight Night from Abu Dhabi.