Reinier de Ridder (red gloves)reacts after defeating Bo Nickal (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Wells Fargo Arena on May 3, 2025, in Des Moines.

mma

Reinier de Ridder Stands by His Sean Strickland Callout, Jokes About Fighting Him Next Week

Learn All About What Reinier de Ridder Said About Calling out Sean Strickland and Fighting Him Next Week.

Reinier de Ridder (red gloves)reacts after defeating Bo Nickal (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Wells Fargo Arena on May 3, 2025, in Des Moines.

Reinier de Ridder is all set to continue his undefeated streak in the UFC. He absolutely destroyed Bo Nickal in just two rounds at UFC Fight Night on May 3, 2025. He is enjoying a three-fight win streak in the UFC as of his last fight.

Reinier de Ridder, soon after the fight, called out a certain former UFC Middleweight Champion for his next fight. This former champion was last seen inside the Octagon in February 2025. However, why did “RDR” chose this MMA Fighter to be his next opponent. Read on more to find out.

Reinier de Ridder Continues to Call Out Sean Strickland

Reinier de Ridder, notably, called out Sean Strickland after his victory against Bo Nickal at UFC Fight Night (via UFC on X).

American wrestler ✅
American striker 👀

Reinier de Ridder wants Sean Strickland next in the Octagon after #UFCDesMoines 😤 pic.twitter.com/KNiAHk1Z1h
— UFC (@ufc) May 4, 2025

“RDR” stood by his earlier interview inside the Octagon during his post-fight conference with the reporters. One reporter asked him why he called out Sean Strickland specifically. He even joked that de Ridder’s next three months would probably be full of abuse and hatred from the person he called out.

To this, de Ridder replied that, he already fought the best American wrestler, now he wants to fight the best American striker (via MMA Junkie on Instagram). However, de Ridder also praised Strickland to be a funny dude and a real character, which is why he liked him. Moreover, Sean Strickland still belongs to the top 5 in the UFC Bantamweight division. The Dutchman also stated that him against Sean Strickland would make for an interesting match stylewise as both of them are good at jabbing. He ended his statement by saying that he would really like to fight Sean Strickland.

The reporter asked “RDR” the timeline for his fight against Sean Strickland. He jokingly replied that he would fight the former UFC Bantamweight Champion next week in Montreal.

How Was Reinier de Ridder’s Last UFC Fight?

Reinier de Ridder fought against Bo Nickal at UFC Fight Night on May 3, 2025. Notably, both were on an undefeated streak until then. The fight between then lasted only 2 rounds as per the UFC official site.

UPSET DELIVERED IN IOWA 💥

Reinier de Ridder with a HUGE knockout in round 2! 👊

[ #UFCDesMoines LIVE NOW on ESPN ] pic.twitter.com/aTh9lulep2
— UFC (@ufc) May 4, 2025

Both Reinier de Ridder and Bo Nickal showed aggression throughout their fight. However, de Ridder started againing momentum in the second round with his punches and knees to the body of his opponent. This proved too much for Bo Nickal to handle. Lastly, Reinier de Ridder ended the fight with a vicious knee to his opponents liver. De Ridder also got his very first Performance of the Night bonus for this fight. He also added another win to his undefeated streak.

Reinier de Ridder has already selected his next target in the form of Sean Strickland. Now, it is for the fans to see whether Sean Strickland answers the call and steps up or not.

Bo Nickal

MMA

Reinier de Ridder

Sean Strickland

UFC

UFC Fight Night

Arka Mukherjee

mlb

mma

wrestling

I’m a sports content writer focusing on MMA, WWE and MLB writer at The Playoffs. I have a Master’s degree in Media Science (M.Sc) from my college The Heritage Academy. I got into the sports industry through my previous company where I worked from 2023 to March 2025. I’m a fan of combat sports like pro wrestling and MMA. My favorite part about working at The Playoffs is speculating what can be happening in WWE, especially face-heel turns and results of matches.