Reiner de Ridder delivered a big upset TKO victory tonight over the previously undefeated Bo Nickal courtesy of a knee to the body in the co-main event of UFC On ESPN 67 in Des Moines.
Round One
De Ridder feeling out with the jab. Nickal with a right hand. Nickal into the clinch now against the cage. Nickal with a punch to the body.
They separate now. Nickal swings and misses as RDR tries for a takedown. Nickal prevents that though and works the clinch against the cage again.
Light knees exchanged and then RDR turns him into the cage, but Nickal reverses him instantly. More jockeying for position now and RDR lands a couple of punches.
Bit of a scramble now and Nickal lands a takedown with half the round remaining. De Ridder starts to try to get a submission going and Nickal adjusts accordingly. Nickal tries for a guillotine choke, but RDR escapes and in the ensuing scramble gets on top.
RDR on top in half-guard now which is exactly where the grappler would have hoped to be. He’s being patient though. Nickal able to find space to move to his knees and now stands. RDR lands an elbow as they break free from the clinch. RDR looking to strike as the round finishes.
Round Two
Calf kick for Nickal. RDR pressing forward and Nickal backs off. RDR punches his way into range, but Nickal ends up pressing him into the cage.
RDR reverses the position and lands a knee to the body. More jockeying for position. RDR looking for knees again. Nickal tries to work the takedown, but de Ridder manages to regain his balance.
De Ridder lands a strike and that might have hurt Nickal a bit. RDR with a good knee to the body and one grazing upstairs too. Nickal looks uncomfortable against the cage as the pressure builds, but then he fires back with punches to try to shift the momentum.
RDR coming in again though and steps into a big knee to the body that folds Nickal, and that’s it, de Ridder TKO’s Nickal, handing him his first ever loss at 1.53mins of the 2nd round.
Nickal has been tipped as a potential future champion from the moment he first arrived in the UFC, but this loss wasn’t in the script and now it’s the ex-ONE FC two-division champion de Ridder who is set to step up the rankings courtesy of his third win in a row since joining the UFC last year.
