Reinier (The Dutch Knight) de Ridder, ranked fifth among UFC middleweight contenders, will face No. 6 Anthony (Fluffy) Hernandez in the main event of the Oct. 18 UFC Fight Night card in Vancouver.
Both men are looking to win their way into a title fight against newly crowned 185-pound champion Khamzat Chimaev, who dethroned South African Dricus du Plessis on Saturday at UFC 319 in Chicago.
De Ridder (21-2-0) has won all four UFC bouts to date, stopping former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker by split decision last time out in July, and is currently on a five-fight winning streak. The 31-year-old Dutch fighter is a former middleweight and light-heavyweight titleholder in the One Championship promotion.
Hernandez (15-2-0 with one no-contest) has won his last eight fights, including a 2022 submission victory over Canadian Marc-Andre (Power-Bar) Barriault. He submitted Georgia's Roman (The Caucasian) Dolidze last time out in August to improve his UFC record to 9-2-0, and his run of eight wins includes six finishes and four performance bonuses.
Canadian Jasmine Jasudavicius, ranked fifth among flyweights, is also on the Rogers Arena card, facing No. 2 Manon (The Beast) Fiorot of France. Jasudavicius (14-3-0) is on a five-fight win streak.
Canadian welterweight (Proper) Mike Malott faces American Kevin (Trailblazer) Holland, ranked 15th among 170-pound contenders, while Canadian Aiemann Zahabi, ranked 10th among bantamweight contenders, meets No. 7 Marlon (Chito) Vera of Ecuador.
New Jersey-based Russian Azamatr (King Pin) Bekoev takes on Tunisian-Dutch middleweight Yousri (Baby Face Assassin) Belkgaroui while Brazil's Bruno (Bulldog) Silva, ranked 14th among flyweight contenders, meets Hyun Sung (Peace of Mind) Park of South Korea.
American Danny (Left Hand 2 God) Barlow takes on Brazilian middleweight Djorden (Shakur) Santos and Stephanie (Rondinha) Luciano tackles Ravena (Kenoudy) Oliveira in an all-Brazilian strawweight showdown.
The UFC’s most recent visit to Vancouver was UFC 289 in June 2023, drawing 17,628 fans. The promotion's last show in Canada was UFC 315 in May in Montreal.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 20, 2025
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
