Dana White announced several upcoming UFC matchups earlier today. Chito Vera is set to face Aiemann Zahabi, and Kevin Holland will take on Canadian fighter Mike Malott.
The most exciting of these announcements is that #5-ranked middleweight Reinier de Ridder (RDR), riding high off a five-round, back-and-forth decision victory over former champion Robert “The Reaper” Whittaker, will face #7-ranked Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez, who recently dominated Roman Dolidze with a fourth-round submission win in the main event just a few weeks ago.
This bout is set to headline UFC Fight Night 262: De Ridder vs. Hernandez on October 18th in Vancouver, Canada.
De Ridder, a former two-division champion in ONE Championship, has already secured four victories this calendar year and is seeking his fifth. Fluffy, meanwhile, is on an eight-fight win streak, with twelve of his fifteen career wins coming by stoppage.
“we’ll see how this whole thing plays out” Dana white”
With the upcoming UFC Fight Night: Imavov vs. Borralho in Paris, France, we seem to have ourselves a bit of a showdown to determine who will take on Khamzat Chimaev next for UFC Middleweight gold. Dana White himself admitted it during the war room announcement on Tuesday, saying:
“Next month in Paris, we have a top middleweight contender fight.”
He further elaborated:
“We’ll see how this whole thing plays out, and we’re going to end up with a middleweight challenger for Khamzat Chimaev’s title.”
This could turn into a battle over who can deliver the most impressive highlight-reel win among the four fighters involved. Dana White essentially incentivizing these men in what’s shaping up to be an unofficial UFC middleweight tournament for the belt is sure to excite fans.
It’s been years since the division has been this dense with formidable competition. Will anyone be able to dethrone the boogeyman champion, Khamzat Chimaev? That remains to be seen.
