Reinier De Ridder Thinks 'Spectacular' Win Vs. Brendan Allen Earns Him Khamzat Fight

Reinier De Ridder may have a new opponent thanks to an injury last month, but there's still a ton on the line for the UFC middleweight contender ... including a massive title fight against Khamzat Chimaev!

RDR says whether he gets to fight for the strap will largely depend on his performance against Brendan Allen in the main event at UFC Fight Night in Vancouver on Saturday.

TMZ Sports spoke with the 4th-ranked 185-pounder about his prospects of fighting Chimaev for the strap ... with a win over the 9th-ranked Allen.

"I think the most important thing is no one has really been able to put Brendan away. All the top guys, 'Fluffy' didn't put him away, he lost the first round to Brendan. [Nassourdine] Imavov wasn't able to put him away. He lost the first round as well," De Ridder said.

"I think if I can go out and make it spectacular, finish him quick, I think I'm still the guy."

What's spectacular? Well ... Reinier says, above all else, there is one way he'd love to win.

"If I can find his neck, that would be the dream scenario," the 35-year-old, 21-2 fighter said.

Of course, for as much as there is on the line for RDR, it's the same for Allen ... who has a chance to crack the top 5.

We spoke to Brendan ... and it's safe to say he's very confident heading into the fight.

"It's kinda like, what's the easier route [to winning]? It's me knocking him out. But I'm not scared of his ground whatsoever. He does nothing that scares me. He does nothing I haven't seen before."

Allen gave a bit of a scouting report, from his perspective.

"To me he's nothing special. He's durable. He's big. He likes to wear on guys. But I'm big too. I'm as battle-tested as they come."

Brendan continued ... "Skill-wise, I've had everything that you could present. I'm just different than what he's fought, and I'm gonna go out there and exploit everything he can do and show that I'm 10 times better."