Reinier de Ridder Wins Light Heavyweight Debut with First-Round TKO
Monster Energy's Reinier de Ridder made a successful move to the UFC Light Heavyweight division, defeating Roman Dolidze via first-round TKO and earning a $25,000 Finish Bonus in Sacramento.
Back in the winner's circle! Monster Energy congratulates MMA athlete Reinier de Ridder on defeating Roman Dolidze at the UFC Fight Night in Sacramento on Saturday night. In the main card fight contested in the Light Heavyweight Division, the 36-year-old from Tilburg, Netherlands, earned a thundering first-round TKO victory and a $25,000 Finish Bonus.
UFC Fight Night Hernandez vs. Rodrigues, also known as UFC Fight Night 285, was contested in front of a live crowd inside Golden1 Center in Sacramento, California. Featuring a total of six bouts on the Main Card and eight Prelims matchups.
In Saturday night's fight, Monster Energy's de Ridder (22-4) came to Sacramento determined to make a statement in his UFC Light Heavyweight debut. The former two-division ONE Championship titleholder joined the UFC in 2024 and made an immediate impact with four consecutive middleweight victories. But after back-to-back losses to Brendan Allen at UFC Fight Night Vancouver in October 2025 and Caio Borralho at UFC 326 in March 2026, The Dutch Knight announced his decision to move up to the 205-pound division for a fresh start. Could de Ridder make a statement in his UFC Light Heavyweight debut?
De Ridder's opponent, Dolidze (15-6), stepped into the Octagon in Sacramento also returning to the light heavyweight division after competing at middleweight for over two years. The 38-year-old Georgian veteran, known as "The Caucasian," was coming off back-to-back middleweight defeats, looking to return to the victory column.
The fight unfolded with Dolidze on the attack, targeting de Ridder's leg with kicks before shooting for a kneebar. Undeterred by the pressure, de Ridder rode out his opponent's submission attempts while finding openings for shots from above that amounted to considerable damage.
As Dolidze kept going all-in on leg attacks, de Ridder continued to deal punishing strikes from the top. Ultimately, de Ridder assumed mount position to control his opponent, all the while raining more shots to the head. When Dolidze proved incapable of escaping the punishment, the referee stopped the fight with less than one minute on the clock in the opening round, pronouncing de Ridder the winner by TKO at 4:01.
After the victory at UFC Fight Night Sacramento, an emotional de Ridder said: “You lose a fight… if you lose two fights, it feels like the end of the world. I've been away from my kids for eight weeks. I just got to get home and hold my kids.”
Saturday night's victory marks de Ridder's first win in the UFC Light Heavyweight Division and earned him a $25,000 Finish Bonus. Stay tuned as de Ridder moves up the ranks in the 205-pound weight class!
