Reinier de Ridder reveals ‘worst fight week’ led to UFC division change

Reinier de Ridder has claimed that the week preceding his middleweight bout against Caio Borralho in March was the worst of his career. The Dutch fighter suffered a decisive unanimous decision loss at the time. De Ridder announced his intention to move up to the UFC light heavyweight division during fight week for that bout, according to Full Send MMA.

He had recently returned from a stoppage loss to Brendan Allen, which left him visibly fatigued and forced his corner to stop the fight before the final round. De Ridder expressed that the weight cut for the Borralho fight was even more challenging than the one he underwent for the Allen bout, stating, "That week was the worst fight week I've ever had."

Following this defeat, he moved up to 205 pounds for a victory against Roman Dolidze at UFC Sacramento.