Reinier de Ridder has a message for Bo Nickal immediately following their fight.
Despite being a former two-division ONE world champion, few gave ‘RDR’ a chance to come out on top against the overhyped and previously unbeaten prospect. But in the end, it took de Ridder less than two minutes into the second stanza to fold the former Nittany Lion with a perfectly placed knee to the midsection.
Immediately following the fight, ‘RDR’ shared a word with Nickal inside the Octagon.
Unfortunately, cameras weren’t able to pick up what was said, but de Ridder revealed what was said during a post-fight interview backstage.
“It feels pretty good, given all the hype around Bo Nickal, to be the one to take the O,” de Ridder said. “I said it to him after the fight: ‘I’m happy I had to fight you now and not in three years,’ because he’s going to be a beast, man. He’s going to be a monster.”
Bo Nickal stays positive as Reinier de Ridder settles into the top 15
‘The Dutch Knight’ is now a perfect 3-0 under the UFC banner and sits as the No. 13 ranked contender in the middleweight division. What’s next for de Ridder remains to be seen, but an opportunity to jump into the top 10 certainly seems like a reasonable request.
As for Nickal, the highly-touted prospect will go back to the drawing board after suffering the first loss of his mixed martial arts career.
Despite the setback, the former D-1 national wrestling champion was still in high spirits, talking to Instagram following the defeat.
“Grateful for the highs and lows,” Nickal wrote. “I’ll be back.”
