Reinier de Ridder and Roman Dolidze are moving on up.
On Sunday, MMA Fighting’s Damon Martin confirmed with sources with knowledge of the bout that de Ridder and Dolidze are set to square off in a light heavyweight fight at UFC Sacramento on Aug. 22 at Golden 1 Center. Léo Guimaraes was first to report the matchup.
A former two-division champion in ONE Championship, de Ridder (21-4) joined the UFC in 2024, making an immediate impact with four straight wins in the middleweight division, including handing
Bo Nickal his first career loss, and taking a split decision over former champion Robert Whittaker. That put “The Dutch Knight” on the cusp of a title shot; however, de Ridder dropped his next two bouts, a TKO loss to Brendan Allen, and then a decision to Caio Borralho. After the Borralho loss, de Ridder announced his decision to return to the light heavyweight division.
Dolidze (15-5) has been a fixture of the UFC middleweight rankings since joining the promotion in 2020. However, after dropping his past two fights, Dolidze now finds himself in a tough spot at 185 pounds, so he moves up to 205 pounds to try and make a run in a weight class where he has gone 3-0 inside the octagon. In his most recent light heavyweight appearance in 2024, Dolidze won a decision over one-time title challenger Anthony Smith.
UFC Sacramento is headlined by a middleweight matchup between top 15-ranked contenders Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez and Gregory “Robocop” Rodrigues.
