A new middleweight bout has been made official for UFC Vancouver.
Originally, Reinier de Ridder was scheduled to fight Anthony Hernandez in the main event, but the middleweight was forced to pull out of the bout. Instead, Ridder will take on Brendan Allen.
Reinier de Ridder is coming off the biggest victory in his short UFC career. The 35-year-old just beat former UFC Middleweight Champion Robert Whittaker at UFC on ABC: Whittaker vs. de Ridder by split decision. Before that huge win, Ridder got wins over Gerald Meerschaert (by submission at UFC Fight Night: Magny vs. Prates), Kevin Holland (by submission at UFC 311), and Bo Nickal (by TKO at UFC on ESPN: Sandhagen vs. Figueiredo).
Reiner has only suffered two losses in his career and that was when he defended and tried to recapture the ONE Light Heavyweight and Middleweight Championship against Anatoly Malykhin. Ridder’s rankings currently stand at four within the middleweight division. His professional record is 21 wins and 2 losses.
His opponent, Brendan Allen, has the biggest opportunity of his career after beating fellow top middleweight Marvin Vettori at UFC 318. That win is coming off back-to-back losses that sent Allen down the divisional rankings.
Still, the 29-year-old has won four out of his last six fights, also beating Bruno Silva (by submission at UFC on ABC: Emmett vs. Topuria), Paul Craig (by submission at UFC Fight Night: Allen vs. Craig), and Chris Curtis (by split decision at UFC Fight Night: Allen vs. Curtis 2). Allen’s currently ranked at No. 11 within the divisional rankings; his professional record stands at 25 wins and 7 losses.
UFC Vancouver is scheduled for next month October 18 at the Rogers Arena. Thus far, the 12 fight card features veterans Kevin Holland, Marlon Vera, Bruno Silva, and Hyun Sung Park. Check out the updated card:
UFC Vancouver Fight Card
• Main Event: Reinier de Ridder vs. Brendan Allen
• Co-Main Event: Kevin Holland vs. Mike Malott
• Marlon Vera vs. Aiemann Zahabi
• Manon Fiorot vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius
• Cody Gibson vs. Aoriqileng
• Kyle Nelson vs. Matt Frevola
• Charles Jourdain vs. Davey Grant
• Bruno Silva vs. Hyun Sung Park
• Danny Barlow vs. Djorden Santos
• Kyle Prepolec vs. Drew Dober
• Azamat Bekoev vs. Yousri Belgaroui
• Stephanie Luciano vs. Ravena Oliveira