De Ridder Says Weight Cuts Wrecked Him Before LHW Move

Reinier de Ridder makes his UFC light heavyweight debut against Roman Dolidze on the UFC Sacramento main card Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026, at Golden 1 Center, and he says the jump up in weight comes after years of middleweight cuts that broke down his body.

De Ridder built his UFC middleweight run into a genuine title case, climbing within one win of a shot at the belt. But the toll of repeatedly shedding weight from a 6-foot-4 frame caught up with him. He hit a wall against Brendan Allen, suffering what he called a complete metabolic crash before he was unable to continue after the fourth round. Five months later, still spooked by that collapse, he fought a tentative version of himself against Caio Borralho and dropped a unanimous decision.

Two losses in a row was the breaking point. "It came with so many problems, the weight cuts," de Ridder said. "My body was gone, broken down after all those cuts. It took all the fun out of training camps. It took all the fun out of fighting. It was just time to move up."

Why De Ridder's Middleweight Cuts Got So Brutal

De Ridder walked around near 215 pounds during his middleweight days, meaning he had to strip roughly 30 pounds to make the 185-pound limit, and he was effectively dieting all year just to get his frame low enough to start cutting water. He made that number five separate times in his first year with the promotion, a workload he now looks back on as reckless. "During that last weight cut, I was already saying this was the last one," he said. "One of the shit things is that you're focused more on the weight cut than training. I was basically dieting year-round."

The physical relief has shown up immediately in camp. De Ridder said he has been able to train twice a day heading into the Dolidze fight, something that had been out of reach for a long stretch of his middleweight tenure.

What De Ridder vs. Dolidze Means for the Light Heavyweight Picture

De Ridder isn't walking into an unfamiliar environment at 205 pounds. Before signing with the UFC, he fought at both light heavyweight and heavyweight as a two-division ONE Championship titleholder, so competing against bigger frames is nothing new for him. Dolidze, who is coming off a submission loss to Anthony Hernandez in his most recent outing, gives him a live veteran test to open the account in the new weight class. De Ridder isn't hiding his confidence, flatly saying of the matchup, "I'm going to kill this motherf**ker."

The timing lines up well for de Ridder competitively. Light heavyweight is thin on clearly established contenders right now and its champion is currently sidelined, which means a statement win over Dolidze could vault de Ridder into the contender conversation almost immediately rather than requiring a long climb back up the ladder the way a middleweight reset would have.

Betting Angle

The bigger story for bettors is what de Ridder looks like without a brutal cut sapping him in fight week. His two middleweight losses both came with clear fatigue as a factor, first a physical crash against Allen and then an overly cautious approach against Borralho born out of fear of a repeat. A fresher, fuller-framed de Ridder who trained twice a day throughout camp is a different proposition than the fighter who wilted in Vancouver. Anyone backing him at light heavyweight should weigh that his sample size at 205 in the UFC is exactly zero fights, so gauge his cardio and power against Dolidze in real time before assuming the weight-cut fix carries over cleanly into the cage.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Reinier de Ridder fighting at UFC Sacramento?

Reinier de Ridder faces Roman Dolidze on the UFC Sacramento main card on Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026, at Golden 1 Center, marking de Ridder's move up to light heavyweight.

Why did Reinier de Ridder move up to light heavyweight?

Reinier de Ridder said repeated middleweight weight cuts, five in his first year alone, broke down his body and led to a metabolic crash against Brendan Allen and a cautious decision loss to Caio Borralho, prompting his move to 205 pounds.

What is Roman Dolidze's recent UFC record?

Roman Dolidze enters the Reinier de Ridder fight coming off a submission loss to Anthony Hernandez, with a UFC record that includes wins over fighters like Marvin Vettori and Kevin Holland.