Reinier de Ridder won the UFC Abu Dhabi title fight, defeating Robert Whittaker, who had previously won the title in the middleweight division, in a close fight at the Etihad Arena.
De Ridder (21) defeated the Australian by split decision to claim his third victory of 2025. Two of the three judges scored the 84-pound (185-pound) bout for de Ridder 48-47, while a third scored it 48-47 for Whittaker.
In a post-fight interview on Saturday, de Ridder said, “I don’t want to fight like this [Whittaker], man, this guy was too tough.” I anticipated having him down. He was extremely durable and tough. Heavy f****** hands”.
When Whittaker dropped the Dutchman with a right hand to the chin in the opening minute, he had to survive a brutal knockdown in round three.
De Ridder survived the attack, maintained his overall dominance in strikes (he landed 169 strikes overall, compared to 100 for Whittaker, according to official UFC statistics), and rallied to win the final two rounds by repeatedly slamming the 34-year-old with repeated knees to the body and constant grappling.
There was little to break the pair apart throughout the five-round fight. The split decision was reflected in the contest’s closeness when the final bell rang.
De Ridder won the Ultimate Fighting Championship for the fourth time in his Ultimate Fighting career. In addition to his five most recent fights, Whittaker (29-7) has now lost three straight.
De Ridder, who is 13th overall going into the Whittaker fight, requested a title shot after winning the middleweight championship match between Dricus Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319 on August 16.
It would be better if I faced Khamzat [Chimaev] or Dricus [Du Plessis] because I want to finish a man in the first round. Give me a title shot.
Former UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan defeated Marcus McGhee unanimously in the co-main event. Yan outperformed his rival in terms of takedowns, significant strikes, and total strikes.
Source: Aljazeera
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