Reinier de Ridder survives a brutal knockdown to win by break up choice in opposition to Robert Whittaker in the primary occasion at Etihad Area within the UAE.
Reinier de Ridder secured the most important win of his Octagon profession at UFC Abu Dhabi, narrowly securing a hard-fought break up choice over former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker on the Etihad Area within the United Arab Emirates.
De Ridder (21-2) earned his third win of 2025 by defeating the Australian by break up choice; two of the three judges scored the 84kg (185-pound) bout 48-47 for de Ridder, whereas a 3rd had it 48-47 for Whittaker.
“I don’t need to struggle like this [Whittaker], man, this man was too robust,” de Ridder mentioned in a post-fight interview on Saturday. “I anticipated to take him down. He was so robust, so sturdy. Heavy f****** palms.”
The Dutch fighter needed to survive a brutal knockdown in spherical three when Whittaker dropped him with a proper hand to the chin within the opening minute.
De Ridder managed to outlive the assault, and consolidated his general superiority in strikes – de Ridder landed 169 in complete, in contrast with 100 for Whittaker, based on official UFC statistics – and recovered to win the ultimate two rounds by carrying down the 34-year-old with repeated knees to the physique and fixed grappling.
All through the five-round struggle, there was little to separate the pair. When the ultimate bell sounded, the break up choice mirrored the closeness of the competition.
De Ridder’s victory was his fourth Final Preventing Championship profession victory. Whittaker (27-9) has now misplaced two straight and three of his 5 most up-to-date fights.
Following his victory, de Ridder, ranked thirteenth heading into the Whittaker struggle, referred to as for a title shot in opposition to the winner of the middleweight championship bout between Dricus Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319 on August 16.
“I need to end a man within the first spherical, so perhaps it might be higher if I fought Khamzat [Chimaev] or Dricus [Du Plessis]. Give me my title shot.”
Within the co-main occasion, former UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan defeated Marcus McGhee by unanimous choice. Yan outpaced his opponent in complete strikes, vital strikes, management and takedowns.
Within the middleweight match, Shara Magomedov bounced again from his first skilled loss, which got here in opposition to Michael Web page in February, to win over Marc-Andre Barriault by unanimous choice. Magomedov earned a 30-27 rating from all three judges.