We are just days away from witnessing the UFC’s seventh visit to Vancouver, where the future of the promotion’s middleweight division will hang in the balance. Rising contenders Reinier de Ridder and ninth-ranked Brendan Allen are set to clash at Rogers Arena in a highly anticipated showdown. Yet, the fight’s buzz comes for reasons beyond their in-cage skills. Both fighters have spent significant time training at Florida’s Kill Cliff gym, and consequently, tensions stemming from that shared history have fueled the hype.

As fight night approaches, the tension between Allen and de Ridder has reached a fever pitch. ‘RDR’ added fuel to the fire by revealing that he initially approached ‘All In’ about training together when he joined the gym, but Brendan Allen declined. “He was never that welcoming to me, so I never really wanted to work with him… he never wanted to train with me. I don’t know why,” explained Reinier de Ridder. The American star, however, recently addressed the situation, pinpointing his side in his latest interview about his frustration toward RDR.

Brendan Allen reacts to Kill Cliff gym’s reported bias toward de Ridder

In his latest appearance on the UFC on Eurosport YouTube channel, Brendan Allen opened up about his decision not to train with Reinier de Ridder when the Dutch star first joined Kill Cliff. ‘All In’ explained that, before ‘RDR’s arrival, the Kill Cliff coaches and trainers routinely consulted him before bringing in any middleweight fighters, including Nassourdine Imavov.

“Kill Cliff as a team asked me for every middleweight they’d come with—everyone was like, ‘Hey, is it all right? How do you feel about this?’ As a team, you’re one of the top guys. It wasn’t just me; it was me, Robocop, and probably a couple other guys,” Brendan Allen said. Allen added that he never personally consulted his team coach, Robbie Lawler, about de Ridder, but the Kill Cliff team also failed to inform him about Reinier de Ridder’s arrival. “I was never asked about him [RDR] not once,” he stated.

Tensions reportedly grew when Reinier de Ridder’s first outing at Kill Cliff saw him facing Brendan Allen’s teammate, Gerald Meerschaert. ‘All In’ reflected on that experience: “So, then he came, and next thing you know, he’s fighting Gerald, who’s my good friend I’ve known for a while, and they’re kind of training in the same room. This is like the Ridder’s first time here. I don’t know, man. To be honest, I didn’t like that whole situation.”

The American also revealed that he had planned years ago to eventually face ‘The Dutch Knight’, back when the Dutch fighter competed in ONE Championship and had no affiliation with Kill Cliff. De Ridder’s 2020 victory over another Kill Cliff teammate, ONE Championship star Aung La N Sang, partially shaped that decision. Importantly, Allen clarified that he directed his frustration at the gym rather than at de Reinier personally. Now, ahead of his UFC Vancouver fight against RDR, Allen is spending time at the VFS Academy for this training camp.

Why is Reinier de Ridder “grateful” to Brendan Allen?

35-year-old Reinier de Ridder has made a remarkable impact under Dana White and the UFC. The former two-division ONE Champion made his Octagon debut last November and has since remained undefeated in four fights, taking on some of the division’s toughest contenders. In under a year, ‘The Dutch Knight’ has climbed to fifth in the UFC middleweight rankings, cementing himself as a rising force in the division.

The UFC originally scheduled De Ridder to fight Anthonio Hernandez in Vancouver. However, when “Fluffy” suffered an injury, Brendan Allen stepped in on short notice, a challenge many fighters would have declined. For ‘RDR, the Vancouver bout represents a key stepping stone toward a potential title shot against reigning middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev. The matchmakers ultimately booked ‘All In’ to face him instead. While de Ridder is grateful to stay on the card at Rogers Arena next month, he admits missing out on Hernandez was a disappointment.

“It was a big letdown. It was a shame,” de Ridder told MMA Junkie. “He really has a cool skill set, ‘Fluffy’ has, and he came in with a lot of hype, so I was very sad he pulled out. And there were a couple of days I didn’t expect anyone to step up at all, to be honest. Nobody wanted to fight. We tried Costa, but Costa wanted on his own terms, so that didn’t happen. I’m very, very grateful that Brendan took the call.”

With Brendan Allen stepping in on short notice, all eyes are now on this highly anticipated matchup. Can ‘All In’ pull off the upset and hand Reinier de Ridder his first UFC loss? Share your thoughts below.