Brendan Allen forced a fourth-round retirement out of Reinier de Ridder, upsetting the Dutch kickboxer and taking all the momentum he’d acrued at middleweight.
De Ridder had been a lightning rod in the 185-pound division and appeared just one win from challenging Khamzat Chimaev for the UFC championship at middleweight. But, on Saturday in Vancouver, Allen dominated de Ridder and made him quit on his stool after four rounds of one-sided action at Rogers Arena.
Considering their rivalry with one another, it was not long before Chimaev reacted to the result and made his feelings clear about de Ridder.
Khamzat Chimaev Reacts to Brendan Allen Beating Reinier de Ridder
After winning titles in two weight classes at ONE Championship in Singapore, together with his hot start to life in the UFC, much was expected of de Ridder to continue his run all the way to a shot at Chimaev’s crown. However, Allen pulled off an extraordinary upset.
De Ridder was never supposed to be fighting Allen, as Anthony Hernandez was the original opponent. However, Allen made most of the late-notice opportunity as he overcome a strong opening de Ridder round to fight more aggressively in the second, inflict his tortuoous ground-and-pound in the third, and close the show after the fourth. De Ridder was unable, or unwilling, to keep fighting in the fifth.
Watch the finish right here:
Speaking after the official announcement of his victory, Allen called out the champion de Ridder had been linked with, clearly determined to take his spot, having beaten the favorite. “Chimaev,” he said, in an address to the title holder. “You want a good grappler? You want somebody who’s young and hungry? Come get it, baby.”
He added: “If not, Dricus [du Plessis], where you at?”
Chimaev was watching, but rather than focus on Allen — a possible new opponent for him — he commented on the way in which de Ridder lost.
“This bull-s*** guy give up.”
Earlier in the show, Mike Malott out-pointed Kevin Holland at welterweight, Aimenn Zahabi edged Marlon Vera in a three-round split decision, and Manon Fiorot scored an incredible first-round finish over women’s flyweight rival Jasmin Jasudavicius.
