{"id":20354,"date":"2025-07-31T05:31:52","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T09:31:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/sin-categoria\/reinier-de-ridder-breaks-into-ufc-middleweight-top-10-analysis-and-rise\/"},"modified":"2025-07-31T05:31:52","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T09:31:52","slug":"reinier-de-ridder-breaks-into-ufc-middleweight-top-10-analysis-and-rise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/mma\/reinier-de-ridder-breaks-into-ufc-middleweight-top-10-analysis-and-rise\/","title":{"rendered":"Reinier de Ridder Breaks into UFC Middleweight Top 10: Analysis and Rise"},"content":{"rendered":"Reinier de Ridder has had a meteoric rise in less than a year. After leaving One Championship, where he was a double champion, he signed with the UFC in September. His octagon debut was in November, submitting Gerald Meerschaert. This was followed by three more victories, including a win over the undefeated Bo Nickal.But De Ridder&#8217;s most impressive victory came on Saturday, obtaining a split decision over former UFC champion Robert Whittaker.With a 4-0 record in the UFC, De Ridder has quickly established himself as a top contender in the 185-pound division. He now holds a spot in the middleweight rankings, relegating Whittaker.This is the only change in the most recent rankings.\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">MMA Pound-for-Pound Ranking and Current UFC Champions<\/h2>\nHere are the pound-for-pound MMA rankings and a list of the current UFC champions in all weight classes.The results are current; the rankings are as of July 29th. To be eligible for the rankings, a fighter must have competed in the last 12 months or have a scheduled fight. Fighters who have been removed for inactivity can only be reinstated after competing.\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Weight Categories<\/h2>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Heavy<\/li><li>Semi-heavy<\/li><li>Middle<\/li><li>Welter<\/li><li>Light<\/li><li>Feather<\/li><li>Male Bantam<\/li><li>Male Fly<\/li><li>Female Bantam<\/li><li>Female Fly<\/li><li>Straw<\/li><\/ul>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a1.espncdn.com\/combiner\/i?img=%2Fphoto%2F2024%2F0729%2Fr1365311_1296x729_16%2D9.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/figure>\nTom Aspinall was already the number 1 heavyweight, but now the UFC belt he wears no longer has the &#8220;interim&#8221; label.<strong>HEAVYWEIGHT (up to 265 pounds)<\/strong>\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Tom Aspinall\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC Champion<\/li><li>Record: 15-3<\/li><li>Last: Victory (TKO1) vs. Curtis Blaydes, July 27, 2024<\/li><li>Next: October 25 vs. Ciryl Gane<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Francis Ngannou\n<ul><li>Promotion: PFL Super Fights Champion<\/li><li>Record: 18-3<\/li><li>Last: Victory (KO1) vs. Renan Ferreira, October 19, 2024<\/li><li>Next: To be determined<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Ciryl Gane\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC<\/li><li>Record: 13-2<\/li><li>Last: Victory (SD) vs. Alexander Volkov, December 7, 2024<\/li><li>Next: October 25 vs. Tom Aspinall<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Curtis Blaydes\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC<\/li><li>Record: 19-5, 1 NC<\/li><li>Last: Victory (TKO1) vs. Rizvan Kuniev, June 21<\/li><li>Next: To be determined<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Alexander Volkov\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC<\/li><li>Record: 38-11<\/li><li>Last: Defeat (SD) vs. Ciryl Gane, December 7, 2024<\/li><li>Next: October 25 vs. Jailton Almeida<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Sergei Pavlovich\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC<\/li><li>Record: 19-3<\/li><li>Last: Victory (UD) vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik, February 1<\/li><li>Next: August 23 vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Jailton Almeida\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC<\/li><li>Record: 22-3<\/li><li>Last: Victory (TKO1) vs. Serghei Spivac, January 18<\/li><li>Next: October 25 vs. Alexander Volkov<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Renan Ferreira\n<ul><li>Promotion: PFL Champion<\/li><li>Record: 13-4, 3 NC<\/li><li>Last: Defeat (KO1) vs. Francis Ngannou, October 19, 2024<\/li><li>Next: To be determined<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Waldo Cortes-Acosta\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC<\/li><li>Record: 14-1<\/li><li>Last: Victory (UD) vs. Serghei Spivac, June 7<\/li><li>Next: August 23 vs. Sergei Pavlovich<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Marcin Tybura\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC<\/li><li>Record: 27-9<\/li><li>Last: Victory (UD) vs. Mick Parkin, March 22<\/li><li>Next: September 6 vs. Ante Delija<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ol>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a.espncdn.com\/combiner\/i?img=%2Fphoto%2F2025%2F0311%2Fr1462698_1296x729_16%2D9.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/figure>\nMagomed Ankalaev rose to the top of the light heavyweight division at UFC 313.<strong>LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT (up to 205 pounds)<\/strong>\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Magomed Ankalaev\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC Champion<\/li><li>Record: 21-1-1, 1 NC<\/li><li>Last: Victory (UD) vs. Alex Pereira, March 8th<\/li><li>Next: October 4th vs. Alex Pereira<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Alex Pereira\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC<\/li><li>Record: 12-3<\/li><li>Last: Defeat (UD) vs. Magomed Ankalaev, March 8th<\/li><li>Next: October 4th vs. Magomed Ankalaev<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Jir\u00ed Proch\u00e1zka\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC<\/li><li>Record: 31-5-1<\/li><li>Last: Victory (TKO3) vs. Jamahal Hill, January 18th<\/li><li>Next: October 4th vs. Khalil Rountree Jr.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Carlos Ulberg\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC<\/li><li>Record: 13-1<\/li><li>Last: Victory (UD) vs. Jan Blachowicz, March 22nd<\/li><li>Next: September 27th vs. Dominick Reyes<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Khalil Rountree Jr.\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC<\/li><li>Record: 14-6, 1 NC<\/li><li>Last: Victory (UD) vs. Jamahal Hill, June 21st<\/li><li>Next: October 4th vs. Jir\u00ed Proch\u00e1zka<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Aleksandar Raki\u0107\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC<\/li><li>Record: 14-5<\/li><li>Last: Defeat (UD) vs. Magomed Ankalaev, October 26th, 2024<\/li><li>Next: October 25th vs. Azamat Murzakanov<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Dominick Reyes\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC<\/li><li>Record: 15-4<\/li><li>Last: Victory (KO1) vs. Nikita Krylov, April 12th<\/li><li>Next: September 27th vs. Carlos Ulberg<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Jamahal Hill\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC<\/li><li>Record: 12-4, 1 NC<\/li><li>Last: Defeat (UD) vs. Khalil Rountree Jr., June 21st<\/li><li>Next: To be determined<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Volkan Oezdemir\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC<\/li><li>Record: 20-8<\/li><li>Last: Defeat (UD) vs. Carlos Ulberg, November 23rd, 2024<\/li><li>Next: To be determined<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Corey Anderson\n<ul><li>Promotion: PFL<\/li><li>Record: 19-6-1<\/li><li>Last: Victory (TKO2) vs. Denis Goltsov, July 19th<\/li><li>Next: To be determined<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ol>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a4.espncdn.com\/combiner\/i?img=%2Fphoto%2F2025%2F0211%2Fr1450646_1296x729_16%2D9.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/figure>\nDricus du Plessis tightened his grip on the middleweight belt at UFC 312.<strong>AVERAGE WEIGHT (up to 185 pounds)<\/strong>\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Dricus du Plessis\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC Champion<\/li><li>Record: 23-2<\/li><li>Last: Win (UD) vs. Sean Strickland, February 8th<\/li><li>Next: August 16th vs. Khamzat Chimaev<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Khamzat Chimaev\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC<\/li><li>Record: 14-0<\/li><li>Last: Win (Sub1) vs. Robert Whittaker, October 26th, 2024<\/li><li>Next: August 16th vs. Dricus Du Plessis<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Sean Strickland\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC<\/li><li>Record: 29-7<\/li><li>Last: Loss (UD) vs. Dricus Du Plessis, February 8th<\/li><li>Next: To be determined<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Nassourdine Imavov\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC<\/li><li>Record: 16-4, 1 NC<\/li><li>Last: Win (KO2) vs. Israel Adesanya, February 1st<\/li><li>Next: September 6th vs. Caio Borralho<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Israel Adesanya\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC<\/li><li>Record: 24-5<\/li><li>Last: Loss (KO2) vs. Nassourdine Imavov, February 1st<\/li><li>Next: To be determined<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Caio Borralho\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC<\/li><li>Previous Ranking: 7<\/li><li>Record: 17-0, 1 NC<\/li><li>Last: Win (UD) vs. Jared Cannonier, August 24th, 2024<\/li><li>Next: September 6th vs. Nassourdine Imavov<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Reinier de Ridder\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC<\/li><li>Previous Ranking: Unranked<\/li><li>Record: 21-2<\/li><li>Last: Win (SD) vs. Robert Whittaker, July 26th<\/li><li>Next: To be determined<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Robert Whittaker\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC<\/li><li>Previous Ranking: 6<\/li><li>Record: 26-9<\/li><li>Last: Loss (SD) vs. Reinier de Ridder, July 26th<\/li><li>Next: To be determined<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Jared Cannonier\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC<\/li><li>Previous Ranking: 8<\/li><li>Record: 18-8<\/li><li>Last: Win (TKO4) vs. Gregory Rodrigues, February 15th<\/li><li>Next: August 16th vs. Michael &#8220;Venom&#8221; Page<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Roman Dolidze\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC<\/li><li>Previous Ranking: 9<\/li><li>Record: 15-3<\/li><li>Last: Win (UD) vs. Marvin Vettori, March 15th<\/li><li>Next: August 9th vs. Anthony Hernandez<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ol>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a1.espncdn.com\/combiner\/i?img=%2Fphoto%2F2025%2F0513%2Fr1492115_1296x729_16%2D9.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/figure>\nJack Della Maddalena holds the welterweight belt in his hand after dethroning Belal Muhammad at UFC 315.<strong>WELTERWEIGHT (up to 170 pounds)<\/strong>\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Jack Della Maddalena\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC Champion<\/li><li>Record: 18-2<\/li><li>Last: Victory (UD) vs. Belal Muhammad, May 10th<\/li><li>Next: To be determined vs. Islam Makhachev<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Belal Muhammad\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC<\/li><li>Record: 24-4, 1 NC<\/li><li>Last: Defeat (UD) vs. Jack Della Maddalena, May 10th<\/li><li>Next: To be determined<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Shavkat Rakhmonov\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC<\/li><li>Record: 19-0<\/li><li>Last: Victory (UD) vs. Ian Machado Garry, December 7th, 2024<\/li><li>Next: To be determined<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Sean Brady\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC<\/li><li>Record: 18-1<\/li><li>Last: Victory (Sub4) vs. Leon Edwards, March 22nd<\/li><li>Next: To be determined<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Leon Edwards\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC<\/li><li>Record: 22-5, 1 NC<\/li><li>Last: Defeat (Sub4) vs. Sean Brady, March 22nd<\/li><li>Next: To be determined<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Kamaru Usman\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC<\/li><li>Record: 21-4<\/li><li>Last: Victory (UD) vs. Joaquin Buckley, June 14th<\/li><li>Next: To be determined<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Ian Machado Garry\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC<\/li><li>Record: 16-1<\/li><li>Last: Victory (UD) vs. Carlos Prates, April 26th<\/li><li>Next: To be determined<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Michael Morales\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC<\/li><li>Record: 18-0<\/li><li>Last: Victory (TKO1) vs. Gilbert Burns, May 17th<\/li><li>Next: To be determined<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Joaquin Buckley\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC<\/li><li>Record: 21-7<\/li><li>Last: Defeat (UD) vs. Kamaru Usman, June 14th<\/li><li>Next: To be determined<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Geoff Neal\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC<\/li><li>Record: 16-6<\/li><li>Last: Victory (TKO1) vs. Rafael Dos Anjos, October 26th, 2024<\/li><li>Next: August 16th vs. Carlos Prates<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ol>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a.espncdn.com\/combiner\/i?img=%2Fphoto%2F2025%2F0629%2Fr1512573_1296x729_16%2D9.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/figure>\nIlia Topuria had vacated the featherweight title before UFC 317, but winning the lightweight belt provided a glorious photo session.<strong>LIGHTWEIGHT (up to 155 pounds)<\/strong>\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Islam Makhachev\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC<\/li><li>Record: 27-1<\/li><li>Last: Victory (Sub1) vs. Renato Moicano, January 18th<\/li><li>Next: To be determined vs. Jack Della Maddalena<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Ilia Topuria\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC Champion<\/li><li>Record: 17-0<\/li><li>Last: Victory (KO1) vs. Charles Oliveira, June 28th<\/li><li>Next: To be determined<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Charles Oliveira\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC<\/li><li>Record: 35-11, 1 NC<\/li><li>Last: Defeat (KO1) vs. Ilia Topuria, June 28th<\/li><li>Next: To be determined<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Max Holloway\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC<\/li><li>Record: 27-8<\/li><li>Last: Victory (UD) vs. Dustin Poirier, July 19th<\/li><li>Next: To be determined<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Justin Gaethje\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC<\/li><li>Record: 26-5<\/li><li>Last: Victory (UD) vs. Rafael Fiziev, March 8th<\/li><li>Next: To be determined<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Paddy Pimblett\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC<\/li><li>Record: 23-3<\/li><li>Last: Victory (TKO3) vs. Michael Chandler, April 12th<\/li><li>Next: To be determined<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Dan Hooker\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC<\/li><li>Record: 29-12<\/li><li>Last: Victory (SD) vs. Mateusz Gamrot, August 17th, 2024<\/li><li>Next: To be determined<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Usman Nurmagomedov\n<ul><li>Promotion: Bellator Champion<\/li><li>Record: 19-0, 1 NC<\/li><li>Last: Victory (MD) vs. Paul Hughes, January 25th<\/li><li>Next: To be determined<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Beneil Dariush\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC<\/li><li>Record: 23-6-1<\/li><li>Last: Victory (UD) vs. Renato Moicano, June 28th<\/li><li>Next: To be determined<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Mateusz Gamrot\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC<\/li><li>Record: 25-3, 1 NC<\/li><li>Last: Victory (UD) vs. Ludovit Klein, May 31st<\/li><li>Next: To be determined<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ol>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a1.espncdn.com\/combiner\/i?img=%2Fphoto%2F2025%2F0414%2Fr1478535_1296x729_16%2D9.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/figure>\nAlexander Volkanovski regained the featherweight belt by defeating Diego Lopes at UFC 314.<strong>FEATHERWEIGHT (up to 145 pounds)<\/strong>\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Alexander Volkanovski\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC Champion<\/li><li>Record: 27-4<\/li><li>Last: Victory (UD) vs. Diego Lopes, April 12th<\/li><li>Next: To be determined<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Yair Rodriguez\n<ul><li>Promotion: UFC<\/li><li>Record: 16-<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Reinier de Ridder has had a meteoric rise in less than a year. After leaving One Championship, where he was a double champion, he signed with the UFC in September. His octagon debut was in November, submitting Gerald Meerschaert. This was followed by three more victories, including a win over the undefeated Bo Nickal.But De [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20355,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[6619,1474,1475,228],"class_list":{"0":"post-20354","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mma","8":"tag-middleweight","9":"tag-reinier-de-ridder","10":"tag-robert-whittaker","11":"tag-ufc"},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20354"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20354\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}