Former ONE two-division champion Reinier de Ridder didn’t wait long to book his octagon debut as he clashes with Gerald Meerschaert in a battle of submission specialists at the UFC Fight Night card scheduled on Nov. 9 with the event taking place at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas.
Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed the news to MMA Fighting on Wednesday following an initial report from Eurosport.
The fight booking comes following news that de Ridder signed with the UFC after spending the past five years competing in ONE Championships. During his time with the Singapore based promotion, de Ridder claimed both the light heavyweight and middleweight titles before actually losing both belts to current ONE three-division champion Anatoly Malykhin.
Following the conclusion of his contract with ONE, de Ridder picked up a quick TKO win in UAE Warriors before signing with the UFC.
With 11 of his 17 wins coming by submission, de Ridder is best known for his ground game and he’ll test that against Meerschaert, who holds the record for the most submission wins in UFC history with 11.
Meerschaert comes into the fight off two straight wins — both by submission — including his latest victory against Edmen Shahbazyan back in August, which earned him a Performance of the Night bonus.
The fight between de Ridder and Meerschaert joins a growing lineup on Nov. 9 with a main event still to be determined.
Mike Heck contributed to this report.
