Reinier de Ridder scored a significant victory at UFC Fight Night in Des Moines by defeating Bo Nickal, handing the undefeated wrestler his first professional MMA loss. De Ridder secured a knockout with a well-timed knee to the liver at 1:53 of the second round, after a closely contested first round featuring grappling exchanges.
Reinier de Ridder
This win improved de Ridder’s UFC record to 3-0, all finishes, and raised his professional record to 20-2. Nickal, a highly regarded American wrestler and former NCAA champion, fell to 7-1 after the loss.
Following the fight, de Ridder called out Sean Strickland, one of the UFC’s most controversial figures and a top-five ranked middleweight striker.