Reinier de Ridder's move up to light heavyweight is a permanent one.
After a 4-0 start in the UFC, de Ridder (21-4 MMA, 4-2 UFC) suffered back-to-back losses to Brendan Allen and Caio Borralho, which prompted him to change weight classes.
Competing four times in 2025 took a serious toll on his body, and it was especially visible in his stoppage loss to Brendan Allen at UFC Fight Night 262
, where he was unable to continue at the end of Round 4."Middleweight is still great – a lot of cool stuff going on there – but I'm never going back," de Ridder told MMA Junkie Radio. "It's over: 205 is my home."
De Ridder's return to 205 pounds comes against Roman Dolidze (15-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 285 (Paramount+) on Aug. 22 at Golden 1 Center. A former
ONE middleweight and light heavyweight champion, de Ridder responded to whether he should have changed weight classes sooner.
"I'm very happy with what happened," de Ridder said. "But if I would have been a bit more honest with myself, making 185 pounds six times in a little bit over a year is just the dumbest sh*t I've ever done. It's not real, and I think it's time to figure something out with this whole weight cut thing, anyway, because this limits us fighters so much toward activity. It's so weird we ended up here. Everyone cuts 10 percent of their body weight. Everybody is compromised when they fight. Why are we still doing this sh*t?"
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Reinier de Ridder: 205 is my home, 'I'm never going back' to middleweight
