“I wanted to say this is the best American wrestler you have, right? Now give me the best American striker. Strickland, you’re up, buddy, let’s go.” Reinier de Ridder’s voice echoed through the Wells Fargo Arena. The Dutchman made it look easy against Bo Nickal at UFC Des Moines and now has his sights set on Sean Strickland. Riding high on his newfound UFC stardom, de Ridder looks more formidable than ever. But the former two-division champ could prove to be an entirely different beast to handle.

The former ONE Championship two-division titleholder proved that his accolades aren’t easy to deal with, as he battered Nickal with body shots and knees to get the victory at 1:53 of the second round. This performance caught a lot of eyes, as he stopped the hottest prospect in the middleweight division and successfully defended his ranking. It was time for a step-up, to face a contender ranked above him.

‘RDR’ showed an immaculate display of counter-striking, making a potential fight with Sean Strickland, who is fresh off a championship loss to Dricus du Plessis at UFC 312, would make a compelling stylistic clash. Still, the former two-division champion Henry Cejudo believes ‘Tarzan’ could definitely pose a serious threat, while praising the Dutchman’s last performance.

In the Fight Back podcast with Jake Shields, Cejudo said: Bro! He’s been finishing everybody, man. That’s a lot of, he just beat Bo Nickal. He says ‘I want the best striker,’ and he wants Sean Strickland. Yeah, he could get hurt with Sean. Then if he beats Sean, then I think his next fight is for the f—ing title. But, notice what he did! He went to the f–ing body, and people are not accustomed to do that. You have to learn. And the dude getting confident with his knees, it’s different.”

It’s true that Reinier de Ridder’s powerful kickboxing versus Sean Strickland’s measured, accurate boxing would’ve been a spectacle for the fans. But recently, UFC head honcho Dana White announced that former middleweight king Robert Whittaker will be de Ridder’s next opponent. Both are set to clash in the main event of UFC Abu Dhabi. The Fight Night card goes down on July 26 at the Etihad Arena.

It’s not Strickland, but the fight against Robert Whittaker is shaping up to be the biggest challenge of de Ridder’s career. And it’s not just the Aussie’s name, it’s his well-rounded skill set that could give the Dutchman serious problems. This might be as tough an encounter, if not tougher. However, Reinier’s former opponent believes there’s only one middleweight contender out there who can beat him right now.

Anatoly Malykhin believes that only Khamzat Chimaev can defeat Reinier de Ridder

We all know Reinier de Ridder was the two-division king in ONE Championship, a major source of hype before his fight with Bo Nickal. However, he lost both belts before entering the UFC, with Anatoly Malykhin handing him back-to-back defeats. The first came via decision at ONE Fight Night 5, and the second at ONE 166, where de Ridder retired mid-fight. So, he understands his former opponent’s strengths and weaknesses better than anyone.

The Russian star believes that with the skills ‘RDR’ brings to the table, only Khamzat Chimaev poses a real threat to him in the UFC middleweight division. In an interview with Bloody Elbow, Malykhin said, “If somebody’s underestimating de Ridder now, they should stop immediately. In my opinion, he’s in the top three in his weight class. The only opposition I see for him realistically who can stop him is Khamzat Chimaev.”

That’s definitely high praise coming from a former opponent! Reinier de Ridder has quickly become a force to be reckoned with inside the Octagon. However, whether he’s truly ready to face a threat like Khamzat Chimaev, who just opened as a two-to-one favorite against current champion Dricus du Plessis at UFC 319, will only become clear if he can get past Robert Whittaker convincingly in the UFC Abu Dhabi main event.

With that being said, do you think Reinier de Ridder would become a prime contender by defeating Whittaker? And could Sean Strickland still pose problems for his style? Drop a comment below and let us know what you think!