Before UFC Vancouver, the Reinier de Ridder hype was going strong as UFC fans saw him as the next challenger for Khamzat Chimaev. But in the main event, Brendan Allen proved to be too much of a challenge, forcing the Dutchman’s corner to throw in the towel after the fourth round ended. After ‘All-In’s total domination, fans were quick to ask what caused ‘RDR’s abysmal performance. Well, now we might actually know.

De Ridder, in his last fight, defeated middleweight legend Robert Whittaker but then lost so convincingly at the Rogers Arena that he definitely seemed a little off. However, it turns out the former ONE Championship titleholder was dealing with “Norovirus” — the exact same disease Joe Rogan pointed out caused Alex Pereira’s loss against Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313. Now, while ‘RDR’s defeat against Allen remains a fact despite the illness, he has already planned to call out Sean Strickland for his comeback fight.

Reinier de Ridder calls out Sean Strickland after UFC Vancouver loss 

Reinier de Ridder wrote on X, “Devastated by the loss. Battled norovirus all week, could hardly stand, and broke my hand in Round 1, making it tough to fight. Gave everything I had. @SStricklandMMA, I’m coming for that middleweight belt. Let’s do this! 👊”

Well, this isn’t the first time ‘RDR’ has called out former middleweight champion Sean Strickland. After defeating Bo Nickal at UFC Des Moines, ‘The Dutch Knight’ called out ‘Tarzan’ in the Octagon interview for a future bout. After that, even Strickland showed interest in fighting De Ridder, as he told Helen Yee in an interview back in May, saying, “I wanted to fight that RDR kid.” But by then, ‘RDR’ was booked to fight Whittaker, and the matchup never materialized.

Now, as Strickland looks to make his comeback after his NSAC suspension ends, he’ll need a solid opponent. However, whether the former middleweight champion welcomes a fight against De Ridder or instead chooses the UFC Vancouver winner — Brendan Allen, who also called him out for a rematch — remains to be seen.

Still, as the discussion around RDR’s loss continues, ‘All-In’ has pointed out a very concerning parallel from the Dutchman’s past. Calling it the reason for his defeat in front of the Canadian audience. 

Brendan Allen throws shade at the Dutchman for quitting like his ONE Champ fight 

After Reinier de Ridder couldn’t continue the fight into the fifth round and accepted defeat, UFC fans and fighters went straight into grilling mode. It even went so far that Khamzat Chimaev called him out on X, saying, “This bulls–t guy give up,” along with several fighters who pointed out how ‘RDR’ lacked that warrior spirit, after the corner decided to throw in the towel. But his UFC Vancouver opponent, Brendan Allen, went one step further.

At the post-fight presser, ‘All-In’ pointed out how De Ridder had actually quit in the past during his middleweight fight against Anatoly Malykhin. He said, “You can see it when he fought that Russian guy the second time in ONE. He did the same thing. I think in the third or fourth round, he did the same thing. So yeah, I knew I could get it done. 

To be honest, fans never questioned the Dutchman’s accolades as a fighter. However, in his ONE Championship 166 middleweight fight against Anatoly Malykhin, ‘RDR’ actually stopped moving, which was enough for the referee to step in and stop the fight. Because of that, questions about his heart have always lingered. A similar thing happened at Rogers Arena — criticism poured in from every corner and still hasn’t died down. Now, only a comeback win over Sean Strickland or someone else of that caliber could bring him some much-needed redemption.

That said, would he actually get this fight in the future since Strickland is ranked above him? Or would the UFC offer ‘RDR’ a slightly lower-ranked opponent so he can rebuild and make his way back? Let us know in the comments section below.