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

Reinier de Ridder secured a split decision victory over Robert Whittaker at UFC on ABC 9 in Abu Dhabi. Despite two judges favoring de Ridder 48-47, one judge scored the fight in Whittaker's favor with the same score.

Robert Whittaker is on his first losing skid in more than 11 years after UFC Abu Dhabi, raising questions about his future.

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.

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.

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.