Reinier de Ridder Submits Meerschaert at UFC Vegas 100
UFC Vegas 100 was Reinier de Ridder’s Octagon debut. On November 9, 2024, the former two-division ONE Championship titleholder defeated Gerald Meerschaert by submission, finishing an arm-triangle choke at 1:44 of Round 3.
A successful UFC debut
Meerschaert, a veteran middleweight known for his submission game, pushed de Ridder into a demanding grappling contest. De Ridder eventually secured the arm-triangle finish in the third round. The result gave him a win in his first UFC appearance and delivered the finish he had sought in the buildup.
The night’s main event
The card’s headliner also ended by stoppage: Carlos Prates knocked out Neil Magny at 4:50 of Round 1. UFC’s official recap lists both results and the full event details.
Sources: UFC Fight Night: Magny vs. Prates results; official event page.
An Experienced Newcomer Meets a Proven Finisher
De Ridder entered the UFC after a six-year period with ONE Championship, where he had held middleweight and light-heavyweight titles. UFC’s pre-fight profile identified him as a black belt in both judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, with finishes in fifteen of his seventeen victories before the Meerschaert contest.
Meerschaert brought his own recent submission success into the matchup. He had defeated Bryan Barberena with a rear-naked choke in March 2024, then submitted Edmen Shahbazyan with an arm-triangle in August. The debut assignment therefore placed de Ridder against a veteran who had already demonstrated effective finishing ability during the same calendar year.
That background made the eventual submission especially relevant to the matchup’s central question. De Ridder’s grappling credentials had been established outside the UFC, but he still needed to apply them against an experienced Octagon opponent. Completing the arm-triangle in round three supplied that first UFC result, giving his promotional debut a decisive ending after more than two rounds of competition.
Background references: UFC’s debut preview and Meerschaert’s UFC record.
