‘What the f*ck are we doing?’: Reinier de Ridder says something has to be done about extreme weight cutting in MMA

Reinier de Ridder has made the decision to leave middleweight behind, citing the severe toll that extreme weight cutting took on his body and performance during his UFC run at 185 pounds.

After an impressive start to his UFC career with four consecutive victories—including notable wins over former champion Robert Whittaker and Bo Nickal—de Ridder's momentum stalled when he accepted six fights in just over a year. The relentless weight cuts to make middleweight proved unsustainable. His body essentially shut down during his loss to Brendan Allen, forcing his corner to stop the fight, and he subsequently fell to Caio Borralho, attributing both performances to the cumulative damage of repeated extreme weight cuts.

De Ridder acknowledged that accepting multiple high-profile opportunities was his choice, but the physical cost became undeniable. Training camps suffered as he severely limited calories, making recovery between sessions nearly impossible. He noted that extreme cuts at middleweight occurred six times in just over a year—far exceeding what he believes is safe. "Every time I was doing a weight cut, I said this has to be the last one," de Ridder told MMA Fighting. The repeated cuts devastated his hormone levels and overall health, he explained.

Now competing at light heavyweight with a 205-pound debut scheduled against Roman Dolidze at UFC Sacramento, de Ridder has noticed dramatic improvements in his health and training. He advocates for systemic change in MMA's weight-cutting culture, pointing out the absurdity of fighters weighing 185 pounds at weigh-in only to balloon to 210-215 pounds by fight time. "Mentally, making weight comes first and then the fight is second, which is so wrong," he said. While acknowledging he lacks a perfect solution, de Ridder stressed that something must change before a fighter's life is endangered by the current system.

He has emphatically closed the door on ever returning to middleweight, declaring "never a middleweight again" as he looks to replicate his early UFC success at light heavyweight.