UFC Abu Dhabi: Whittaker vs. de Ridder Fight Card, Predictions, & Odds

Ranked UFC middleweight contenders Robert Whittaker and Reinier de Ridder will collide in a pivotal match on July 26 in the main event of UFC Abu Dhabi at the Etihad Arena in Yas Island, United Arab Emirates.

Although he dropped his previous fight against Khamzat Chimaev, Whittaker remains the betting favorite with -160 UFC odds. Meanwhile, de Ridder, who’s on a three-fight win streak and still undefeated inside the octagon, will head into the match as the +130 betting underdog.

UFC Abu Dhabi: Whittaker vs. de Ridder Odds

• Robert Whittaker: -160
• Reinier de Ridder: +130

UFC Abu Dhabi: Whittaker vs. de Ridder: Prediction

I predict that de Ridder will submit Whittaker in under three rounds, as his grappling and jiu-jitsu skills are far superior. Additionally, I think de Ridder can withstand the striking attacks from Whittaker and do enough not to get into any serious trouble on the feet.

De Ridder has shown flashes of improved striking during his last fight against Nickal, as he even scored a stoppage win over him via a vicious knee strike to the body that instantly folded the former three-time NCAA national wrestling champion.

On the other hand, Whittaker was recently exposed to a stylistic matchup that can be a nightmare for him. “The Reaper” had problems with Chimaev and his wrestling and submission maneuvers, which “The Dutch Knight” can easily exploit on fight night.

I think de Ridder can repeat the same formula against Whittaker if he can time a level change perfectly and fully utilize his advantages in physicality, specifically his height and longer reach, which will come in handy during his submission attempts throughout the match.

Robert Whittaker’s Recent Fight Results

Whittaker was the Ultimate Fighter winner in 2012, where he defeated Bradley Scott unanimously to earn a UFC contract. He had five fights in the welterweight division before officially moving up to the middleweight division in 2014.

Since his move to the 185-pound division, Whittaker won his first eight bouts and eventually became the UFC middleweight king in July 2017 when he outpointed Yoel Romero. But after winning the belt, “The Reaper” had a roller coaster run.

He won seven of his next 11 fights, but failed to capitalize on his two chances to regain the undisputed title against Israel Adesanya during this stretch, with a knockout and a decision loss. In his most recent fight, he was stopped by Khamzat Chimaev via first-round submission.

Reinier de Ridder’s Recent Fight Results

De Ridder was a former two-division ONE Championship champion before he made a pit stop in UAE Warriors and scored a stoppage victory against Magomedmurad Khasaev last November, then signed with the UFC shortly after.

He made his octagon debut against Gerald Meerschaert and submitted him in the final round of their match. After that, he swept his next two assignments and secured stoppage wins over Kevin Holland in January and Bo Nickal last May.

UFC Abu Dhabi: Whittaker vs. de Ridder: Tale of the Tape

UFC Abu Dhabi: Whittaker vs. de Ridder Fight Card

• Robert Whittaker vs. Reinier de Ridder, middleweight fight
• Petr Yan vs. Marcus McGhee, bantamweight fight
• Shara Magomedov vs. Marc-Andre Barriault, middleweight fight
• Asu Almabayev vs. Ramazan Temirov, flyweight fight
• Nikita Krylov vs. Bogdan Guskov, light heavyweight fight
• Bryce Mitchell vs. Said Nurmagomedov, bantamweight fight
• Amanda Ribas vs. Tabatha Ricci, women’s strawweight fight
• Muslim Salikhov vs. Carlos Neal, welterweight fight
• Ibo Aslan vs. Billy Elekana, light heavyweight fight
• Martin Buday vs. Marcus Buchecha, heavyweight fight
• Mohammad Yahya vs. Steven Nguyen, featherweight fight
• Davey Grant vs. Da’Mon Blackshear, bantamweight fight