Reinier de Ridder didn’t take long to get his first Ultimate Fighting Championship opponent.
The former ONE Championship two-division title holder will square off against Gerald Meerschaert in a middleweight bout at UFC Fight Night 247 on Nov. 9. UFC op Eurosport NL was first to report the booking. UFC Fight Night 247 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and does not currently have a headliner in place.
De Ridder began his professional career with 17 consecutive triumphs, a run that included a 7-0 start to his ONE tenure. He bested Aung La N Sang on two different occasions to become a two-division champion but would lose both belts to Anatoly Malykhin in technical knockout defeats. “The Dutch Knight” fought outside the ONE banner for the first time since 2018 on July 27, when he defeated Magomedmurad Khasaev via first-round TKO at UAE Warriors 51.
A veteran of 54 professional outings, Meerschaert has finished 29 of his 37 career triumphs by way of submission. “GM3” is coming off back-to-back submission victories against Bryan Barberena and Edmen Shahbazyan in UFC competition.
