Khamzat Chimaev warns he'll make Reinier de Ridder "look like white belt" following the Dutchman's daring callout

Khamzat Chimaev and Reinier de Ridder recently traded shots online. After Chimaev called out de Ridder for a showdown, the Dutchman vowed to show 'Borz' what "true grappling dominance" looked like, which prompted a bold response from the Chechen-born fighter.

Chimaev is coming off a unanimous decision title victory over Dricus du Plessis at UFC 319 last weekend. Despite many questioning the effectiveness of his grappling against du Plessis, Chimaev effortlessly dominated the South African fighter on the ground over five rounds and took home the UFC middleweight title.

In the aftermath, Chimaev seemingly called out de Ridder for his first title defense via a one-word X post. Not one to hold back, de Ridder congratulated Chimaev in his response and wrote:

"Congrats on the belt @KChimaev. But I will show you what true grappling dominance looks like. Sign the contract."

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Chimaev took to the X post's comments section to issue his clapback and vowed to make de Ridder look like an amateur, saying:

"I’m gonna make you look like [a] white belt, habibi."

It's worth noting that de Ridder is on a four-fight win streak in the UFC and is coming off a strong win over Robert Whittaker at UFC Abu Dhabi last month. He's also recorded wins over contenders like Bo Nickal and Kevin Holland.

When Reiner de Ridder called Khamzat Chimaev "easier" opponent than Dricus du Plessis

Last month, Reinier de Ridder shared his thoughts on potential fights against Khamzat Chimaev and Dricus du Plessis. The Dutchman intriguingly called Chimaev an easier puzzle to solve and wasn't a "spectacular" opponent.

In an interview with ESPN MMA, de Ridder shared his thoughts on potentially having to gear up for Chimaev or du Plessis sometime soon and said:

''[Chimaev] would be like an easier guy to prepare for. Not that he is an easier fight, but he is more of a typical style. I can bring a couple of Dagestanis and Chechens in who wrestle pretty similarly to Khamzat. He boxes pretty cleanly, like boxing, boxing style. So yeah, that is not that spectacular, not that special in a sense that it's not as weird as [du Plessis] is, you know. It'll be harder to prepare for [du Plessis], but if he wins, he might be the bigger name, but in my mind I'm fighting both those guys in the next six to nine months anyway.''

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Edited by Nishant Zende.