Reinier de Ridder dominates Roman Dolidze to score first-round TKO at UFC Sacramento

Reinier de Ridder delivered a statement win in his UFC light heavyweight division after moving up in the weight class. He took on Roman Dolidze in his first 205-pound challenge at UFC Fight Night 285 at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. 

Reinier de Ridder gets back in win column with first-round TKO of Roman Dolidze

De Ridder suffered back-to-back losses to Brendan Allen and Caio Borralho before moving up in the division. He entered the fight with one goal to get back in the win column. 

Meanwhile, Dolidze was on a two-fight losing skid, with losses to Anthony Hernandez and Christian Leroy Duncan in May. He hoped to use the matchup to turn his fortunes around. 

As the bell rang within the first minute, the fight quickly went to the ground, with Dolidze pulling guard inside the opening minute. Rather than being forced into the position, the Georgian remained confident in his ground game and appeared willing to work from his back, seemingly looking for opportunities to attack De Ridder with leg submissions.

However, the decision turned out to be disastrous as De Ridder worked his way to Dolidze's back and began landing heavy punches to the side of the head. Dolidze managed to survive the initial barrage, but the Dutch fighter continued to control the position and landing strikes.

The Dutchman briefly moved to the top position and continued his assault before taking Dolidze's back once again. With the Georgian unable to effectively defend himself, De Ridder continued landing punches from back control.

At the 4:01 mark of the opening round, the referee stepped in and stopped the contest. De Ridder secured a first-round TKO victory via punches to the head from back control.

De Ridder was visibly overwhelmed with emotion after finally returning to the win column. The former middleweight contender broke down in tears, and in his octagon interview, he explained why the victory meant so much to him.

Reinier de Ridder reveals emotional reason behind tears after UFC victory

After the impressive win in his octagon interview with Michael Bisping, De Ridder opens up about his two losses in the middleweight division and how much they affected him. 

He also revealed that he had been away from his children for eight weeks as he was preparing for the fight and shared that now he simply wanted to return home to his family.

“You lose a fight, it's If you lose two fights, it's feels like the end of the world. I've been away from my kids for eight weeks. I just I got to get home and hold my kids,” De Ridder said.

Check out De Ridder's comments below: