Reinier de Ridder Solidifies Himself as a Title Contender After Defeating Robert Whittaker in a Split Decision
Reinier de Ridder, a prominent UFC middleweight fighter, solidified his position as a legitimate title contender on Saturday, overcoming Robert Whittaker in an exciting match. De Ridder (21-2) achieved his fourth victory in the UFC, and the third this year, by defeating Whittaker by split decision at the UFC Fight Night event in Abu Dhabi. Two of the three judges scored the 185-pound fight 48-47 in favor of De Ridder, while the third judge gave Whittaker a 48-47 score.“I was hoping to take him to the ground and submit him,” De Ridder commented. “It was incredible. Very tough, very resilient, with heavy hands.”
Reinier de Ridder
Despite the closeness of the official scores, De Ridder outperformed Whittaker in almost all statistical categories. 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 cage or on the ground. In the second round, he hurt Whittaker with knee strikes, causing him to bleed from the mouth and nose midway through the fight.
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 onslaught and won the last two rounds.
De Ridder is known for being a grappler, with 14 of his 21 professional victories by submission. He attempted takedowns at various points in the fight, but Whittaker defended well 13 of 15 attempts. Ultimately, it was De Ridder’s pressure and volume that overcame Whittaker, more than his grappling skills. This has been a standout year for De Ridder, who is from the Netherlands but trains at Kill Cliff FC in Florida. He submitted Kevin Holland in January, 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. Immediately after the fight, De Ridder requested a title shot against the winner of next month’s championship fight between Dricus Du Plessis and Khamzat 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 someone like this man again,” De Ridder said about Whittaker. “It 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
