Reinier de Ridder has officially entered the world of the middleweight elite after a grueling battle against Robert Whittaker at UFC Abu Dhabi.

Reinier de Ridder picked up the biggest win of his career on Saturday when he took a hard-fought split decision over former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker in the main event of UFC Fight Night from Abu Dhabi.

In the UFC on ABC 9 main event Saturday, de Ridder (21-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) defeated former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker (26-9 MMA, 17-7 UFC) over five rounds. The decision was a split set of 48-47 scorecards. The event took place at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

Reinier de Ridder will turn his attention to a middleweight title shot next, after beating former champion Robert Whittaker in the main event of UFC Abu Dhabi.

Since moving up to middleweight, ‘The Reaper’ has never found himself coming off of back-to-back losses until now. Robert Whittaker was beaten by Reinier de Ridder in the main event of UFC Abu Dhabi this past weekend.

MMA Junkie's Mike Bohn plays matchmaker and looks ahead to what makes sense for Reinier De Ridder in this edition of "Sean Shelby's Shoes."

Head-to-toe Middleweight bout breakdown for their main event match this weekend (Sat., July 26, 2025) at UFC Abu Dhabi inside Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.