UFC middleweight Reinier de Ridder made quite a statement with his UFC 311 victory over Kevin Holland. After all, the Dutch powerhouse submitted the UFC veteran in the very first round to put other 185fers on notice. ‘The Dutch Knight’ comes from a championship pedigree, having been a former two-division ONE FC champion before coming to the UFC last year.

So what’s next for the Dutchman after the dominant victory last week? de Ridder has his sight set on a fight with top-ranked guys which could earn him a title shot.

“There’s multiple ways to get to Rome. I think uh there’s a lot of options to get there. All of them would be amazing. Khamzat [Chimaev] would be a great fight. I don’t think he has anything booked, so why not? But also Whittaker would be great, [as would] [Israel] Adesanya-[Nassourdine] Imavov winner. I’m ready for whatever. If I can land a big fight like that, finish it like I did this one, then I think there’s no denying me [a title shot],” de Ridder told ‘MMA Junkie’ in a recent interview.

Of course, Khamzat Chimaev is next in line for a title shot and may be out of the question at the moment. On the other hand, former champ Robert Whittaker is coming off a devastating loss at the hands of ‘Borz’ and may be a good choice. However, the Dutch middleweight’s third option is probably the best fight for him if he hopes to fight for the title in the near future.

After all, Israel Adesanya and Nassourdine Imavov will fight at the UFC Saudi event next week. And the winner of that bout will have a good case to make for a title shot. If the UFC decides that de Ridder has done enough to warrant a fight with the winner of that contest, that would almost guarantee him an outing with the champ. That is if de Ridder wins, of course. But at the moment, the road for ‘RDR’ to get to a title shot seems a long one.

Could Reinier de Ridder fight a top-ranked middleweight next?

Reigning middleweight champ Dricus Du Plessis is set to rematch Sean Strickland next month. ‘DDP’ eeked a razor-thin decision against ‘Tarzan’ at UFC 297 last year to become the UFC’s first-ever South African champion. Their fight was so close that even Dana White thought Strickland should have won.

While there is not much enthusiasm for the fight among fans, it is a well-deserved rematch for ‘Tarzan’. And the winner of Du Plessis-Strickland 2 is almost definitely going to fight Khamzat Chimaev next. This could come towards the end of this year. By that time de Ridder could have beaten the winner of Adesanya-Imavov, which might see him fight for the title after Chimaev.

But on the other hand, the chances that ‘The Dutch Knight’ gets a top-ranked opponent next are slim. After all, ‘RDR’ is still unranked and would probably have to fight at least a couple of top-15 and top-10 ranked guys before he is given a Whittaker or an Adesanya-Imavov winner, let alone Chimaev. What do you think about Reinier de Ridder’s plans to get to a title shot?