Saturday night was not a good one for Reinier de Ridder.
The UFC Middleweight was coming off a hot win over Robert Whittaker and many pegged him as the favorite since he was on a strong five fight winning streak. For the first round, it seemed that this was another easy win for Ridder as he pretty much dominated it.
However, that was the only round that saw Ridder get any sort of advantage. The 35-year-old was beaten with ease for the next three rounds by Brendan Allen. Ridder’s coach made the decision to call the fight quits on his client’s behalf.
Ridder has remained silent since his shocking loss to Allen at UFC Vancouver, but his coach has come out with a statement justifying his reasoning behind calling the match for his fighter.
Friends, fans, and supporters,
I normally don’t share personal things on here, but I feel I owe a little explanation to everyone who’s been behind us. First of all, thank you for the amazing support we’ve been receiving. It’s been a crazy and busy year so far.
Last night didn’t go as we wanted. After a very strong start in the first round, things quickly started fading and we couldn’t really recover from the shots in and after the second round. I made the call to stop the fight after the fourth round. I take full responsibility for that decision and it was the right call to make for me in the moment. It’s not a decision I ever wanted to make, but I guess sometimes you have to.
My job is to coach, but also to look out for my fighter’s health. I’ve been with Reinier for basically his whole career and saw too many signs that made me step in. If I didn’t do anything, he would’ve continued the fight. Rather than risk unnecessary damage, I decided to call it a day and go home as healthy as possible. Live to fight another day.
I absolutely do not care about pleasing others if it comes at the cost of someone’s health. There’s a thin line between “being tough” and watching out for your health. This sport can be brutal. These guys sacrifice a lot of their life in and out of the cage - there’s no need for excess damage if it can be avoided. Most people forget they’re human too.
Zero excuses for this loss, we knew what we were going for. We are not happy with this performance, but for now recovery first, evaluate some stuff and we will be back next year. It has been an amazing year overall and thankful for all the highs and lows in life.
Proud of you my brother @deriddermma. We’ve come a long way.
Have a wonderful day everyone and thank you for the continued support.
All love,
(coach) Harun