Reinier de Ridder consolidates himself as a title contender in the UFC middleweight division, after defeating Robert Whittaker in an exciting fight. De Ridder (21-2) achieved his fourth UFC victory, the third this year, by defeating Whittaker via split decision at the Fight Night event held in Abu Dhabi. Two of the three judges scored the fight 48-47 in favor of De Ridder, while the third saw it 48-47 in favor of Whittaker.
Despite the official scores being close, De Ridder outperformed Whittaker in almost every statistical category. According to UFC statistics, De Ridder landed 169 total strikes, compared to Whittaker’s 100. He was also credited with just over nine minutes of control time, either against the fence or on the ground. In the second round, he hurt Whittaker with knee strikes, causing his mouth and nose to bleed midway through the fight.I was expecting to take him to the ground and submit him. It was incredible. Very tough, very resilient, with heavy hands.
Reinier de Ridder
Whittaker’s best moment came in the first minute of the third round, when he knocked De Ridder down with a counter right hand. He connected a perfect right hand on De Ridder’s chin, and almost finished him with ground strikes immediately after. However, De Ridder managed to survive the offensive and win the last two rounds.
De Ridder is known for his grappling ability, with 14 of his 21 professional victories by submission. He attempted takedowns at various points in the fight, but Whittaker defended 13 of the 15 attempts well. Ultimately, it was De Ridder’s pressure and volume that made Whittaker succumb, more than his grappling skills. This has been a successful year for De Ridder, originally from the Netherlands but training at Kill Cliff FC in Florida. In January, he submitted Kevin Holland, and then knocked out the promising Bo Nickal in May to get his first UFC main event. For Whittaker, 34, it’s the first time he’s lost consecutive fights since 2013. He lost by submission to Khamzat Chimaev in October. Immediately after the fight, De Ridder requested a title shot against the winner of next month’s championship fight between Dricus Du Plessis and Chimaev at UFC 319. De Ridder entered Saturday’s fight ranked number 13 in the division. Whittaker was ranked number 5.I don’t want to fight anyone like this man again. He was too tough. I want to finish a guy in the first round, so maybe it would be better if I fought Khamzat or Dricus. Give me my title shot.
Reinier de Ridder
