Just a couple weeks before the middleweight title goes up for grabs, Robert Whittaker and Reinier de Ridder square off in this critical divisional pairing on Saturday in Abu Dhabi.
Whittaker makes his second consecutive start at Etihad Arena and third straight appearance in the MENA region, having bested Ikram Aliskerov in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, prior to his loss to Khamzat Chimaev last October at UFC 308. “The Reaper” had remained the top end measuring stick for all hopefuls in the division, having only lost to Israel Adesanya, current champ Dricus Du Plessis, and Chimaev, rebounding from each of those setbacks with quality wins over tough opponents.
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De Ridder’s promotional debut against Gerald Meerschaert left some wondering why so many were pumped about the promotion bringing the Dutch veteran into the fold, but he’s shown why so far in 2025. In January, de Ridder dispatched Kevin Holland with swiftness, and then followed it up by bouncing Bo Nickal from the ranks of the unbeaten at the start of May to move to 20-2 overall.
The key question heading into this one is pretty clear and familiar: can de Ridder get by the man who has steadily guarded the gates to contention, or will Whittaker turn back yet another hopeful? It should be a fun stylistic clash between a pair of well-rounded talents to close out the show on Saturday evening on ABC.
