Reinier de Ridder: Weight cuts ‘took all the fun out of fighting’

Reinier de Ridder has left middleweight behind, citing the toll that severe weight cuts took on his enjoyment of fighting. The former two-division ONE Championship champion endured six weight cuts to 185 pounds in just over a year—a grueling cycle that left him dieting year-round and pushing his body to unsustainable limits.

"It took all the fun out of fighting," de Ridder said at UFC Sacramento media day. "I was basically dieting year-round, struggling to get close year-round, so it was time." After back-to-back losses at middleweight, the move to light heavyweight (205 pounds) offers relief from those restrictions and a chance to train and compete at a more natural weight.

De Ridder recently joined American Top Team, where he trains regularly with larger fighters better suited to light heavyweight competition. He enters his UFC light heavyweight debut against Roman Dolidze at Sacramento confident that the division reset will prove transformative. De Ridder is eyeing top-ten competition if he earns an impressive finish, signaling his intent to climb the light heavyweight ranks quickly. The shift represents both a physical reprieve and a potential career revitalization after a difficult middleweight stretch.