UFC 326: Reinier de Ridder details 'severe' medical issue in last bout
· Yahoo Sports
LAS VEGAS – A lot of fans were left puzzled and confused the last time they saw Reinier de Ridder in the octagon.
The former two-division ONE Championship titleholder suffered his first UFC defeat the last time he set foot in the cage. He lost by corner stoppage TKO after not answering the bell for Round 5 of his main event bout against Brendan Allen at UFC Fight Night 262 back in October. De Ridder (21-3 MMA, 4-1 UFC), who entered as a favorite, looked outright flat and exhausted very early into the fight, making many ask themselves, what went wrong?
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Well, as some suspected, there was something medically wrong with the Dutch fighter.
"Just on all levels, my blood work, everything was in the trash," de Ridder said at Wednesday's media day. "Everything was bad, but mostly standing out: Severe anemia, very, very red blood cell count. I work my body to sh*t basically."
De Ridder assured he's now healthy ahead of Saturday's return at UFC 326 (Paramount+), which takes place at T-Mobile Arena. He takes on Brazil's Caio Borralho (17-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC) in the co-main event.
Although the health issue is behind him, de Ridder admits things got scary for him at some point.
"Mostly, at least I knew what was wrong with me at that point – I was very happy with that," de Ridder said. "I had something to work from, but it took a long time to find my body back to get everything started, to get the right treatment and find everything out. That wasn't easy. So, there were a couple of weeks there, me still, where I couldn't complete a training session. I couldn't walk up the stairs without being tired. So, there was a little while there I was thinking, 'I might never fix this stuff. It might be over.'"
Despite suffering his first UFC loss and halting an incredible momentum he had going into the fight, de Ridder actually has no regrets on his decision to fight Allen, which was his fifth consecutive fight in less than a year.
"No, with the opportunity there it, most likely, I'd make the same dumb decision to fight again because it was too cool, I was on such a roll," de Ridder said. "I knew my body wasn't there, but I just thought if I could get him out of there in the first round, and I was close, then we wouldn't be talking about my health right now."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Reinier de Ridder details medical issue that plagued first UFC loss