Bo Nickal and Reinier de Ridder’s eagerly awaited middleweight match was the co-headliner of tonight’s UFC Des Moines fight program.
Nickal (7-1 MMA) was making his first appearance since he defeated veteran Paul Craig via unanimous decision at UFC 309 in November of last year. Prior to this, the 29-year-old had a perfect 4-0 record inside the Octagon, winning three of his four fights via stoppage.
Since entering the UFC in November of last year, Reinier de Ridder (20-2 MMA) had gone a perfect 2-0, winning both of those fights by submission. Gerald Meerschaert was submitted by the former two-division ONE FC champion to start his UFC career, and he did the same against Kevin Holland at UFC 311 in his second outing.
The UFC Des Moines co-main event tonight turned out to be “RDR’s coming out party.” The former two-division ONE FC champion defeated the American on the ground in the first round and showed no qualms about engaging in a grappling and clinch match with Bo Nickal. After a series of uppercuts and a knee to the liver in round two, Reinier de Ridder chose to show off his striking prowess and ultimately knocked Nickal down for good.
Official UFC Des Moines Results: Round 2 TKO victory for Reinier de Ridder over Bo Nickal
Check out how the pros reacted to ‘Nickal vs. De Ridder’ below:
Post-fight reactions to Reinier de Ridder defeating Bo Nickal at UFC Des Moines:
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