Dana White and Co. recently signed former ONE FC double champ Reinier de Ridder, who’d be making his PPV debut at UFC 311. He’ll be butting heads against Kevin Holland to kick off the main card this weekend, and the predictions are coming in from various figures in the MMA community. However, former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker believes that ‘Trailblazer’ might need to take some notes about the dangers of fighting the Dutchman.

Reinier de Ridder is no stranger to the bright lights of fighting in a jam-packed arena. At 185lbs, ‘The Dutch Knight’ has two successful title defenses in his previous workplace and has even trained with current UFC middleweight champion, Dricus du Plessis, in the past. While some fans may not be aware of de Ridder, he does have a bit of an awkward fighting style, although he’s a much more technical fighter than ‘Stillknocks’.

However, Robert Whittaker believes that if de Ridder decides to fight Kevin Holland just like du Plessis, he could control the whole bout. “I haven’t seen the Reinier guy fight, but like, let’s say he fights kind of like Dricus-esque and he’s like, he’s going to really, really try to force takedowns, I can see him dragging Holland, like, across the three [rounds] and inching out a win if Holland doesn’t stone him between those gaps,” ‘The Reaper’ stated on Israel Adesanya’s YouTube channel.

Despite the warnings that Kevin Holland has got from the former Aussie champion, Whittaker and Adesanya were both putting their money on ‘Trailblazer’ to edge past Reinier de Ridder. Even the Dutchman is aware of the dangers that Holland poses in a fight, and he recently shared his views on the first PPV opponent. Here’s what de Ridder had to say.

Reinier de Ridder is aware of Kevin Holland’s veteran status

Given that Reinier de Ridder has accomplished a lot before his advent into the UFC, he’s not taking Kevin Holland lightly. The fact that the Riverside native has 39 professional fights under his belt, ‘RDR’ is aware of the tactics that Holland could use, which could put him in deep waters. However, the only thing that de Ridder is worried about is the power that ‘Trailblazer’ possesses in his ‘right hand’.

“He’s [Holland’s] very experienced [and] he’s been around for a long while. He’s long, rangy, and his main thing is his right hand, he has a very strong, very precise right hand, and he has a lot of smoke around it,” Reinier de Ridder stated during the recent media day. “If he can crack you with that right hand straight down the pipe, you’re in trouble. So that’s what I’m gonna try and stay away from.”

Reinier de Ridder wants to choke Kevin Holland out, and it will be interesting to see if he can get that done. But in the meantime, let us know your predictions for the UFC 311 main card opener in the comments down below.