Former ONE champ Reinier de Ridder gets debut win

Reinier de Ridder didn’t have the blowout performance he wanted in his octagon debut against Gerald Meerschaert at UFC Fight Night 247, but he got the win and a finish.

Former two-division ONE Championship titleholder de Ridder (18-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) went back-and-forth with Meerschaert (37-18 MMA, 12-10 UFC) on the feet and ground before he finally snatched an arm-triangle choke for the tap at the 1:44 mark of Round 3 in the middleweight bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas (via X):

Meerschaert was on point with his boxing to start the fight, tagging de Ridder multiple times and rejecting takedown attempts. He found comfort as the minutes wore on, however, and became more aggressive with his grappling pursuits before landing a huge left hand that dropped Meerschaert in the final seconds of the opening round.

With confidence on his side going into the second frame, de Ridder secured an early takedown and established top control. He burned several minutes off the clock before a sloppy submission attempt cost him position and led to Meerschaert getting top position of his own. Meerschaert landed some decent ground-and-pound to get some momentum back, but de Ridder got a scramble and late takedown to end the round.

The fight was still winnable for both sides going into the final round. Meerschaert made the first big takedown attempt of the round, which was stopped. De Ridder answered with a trip takedown, and then some high-energy reversals, transitions, and submission attempts unfolded over several minutes. De Ridder locked in the arm-triangle choke and got the tap.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 247 results include:

• Reinier de Ridder final. Gerald Meerschaert via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 3, 1:44
• Gaston Bolanos def. Cortavious Romious via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
• Gillian Robertson def. Luana Pinheiro via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Mansur Abdul-Malik def. Dusko Todorovic via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 2:44
• Denise Gomes def. Karolina Kowalkiewicz via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos def. Zach Scroggin via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 1:15
• Charlie Radtke def. Matthew Semelsberger via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 0:51
• Da’Mon Blackshear def. Cody Stamann via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:19
• Tresean Gore def. Antonio Trocoli via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 1:23
• Melissa Mullins def. Klaudia Sygula via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 1:20

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 247.