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Robert Whittaker vs Reinier De Ridder Preview & Picks – Ex-UFC Champ To Halt RDR’s Rise
- Robert Whittaker vs Reinier De Ridder picks for Saturday, July 26
- UFC Fight Night is taking place at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi
- Preview, predictions, stats & form
Robert Whittaker (Getty Images)
- Robert Whittaker vs Reinier De Ridder Preview & Picks
- Robert Whittaker Form
- Reinier De Ridder Form
Robert Whittaker vs Reinier De Ridder Preview & Picks
Robert Whittaker vs Reinier De Ridder Preview & Picks
Robert Whittaker is tipped to halt the rise of Reinier De Ridder.
Whittaker can use his slick striking to dictate the action on the feet, and despite being taken down early by Khamzat Chimaev, he still boasts excellent takedown defense.
- Robert Whittaker is 15-4 in his last 19 fights
- Robert Whittaker has lost just 1 non-title fight at middleweight
- Reinier De Ridder has lost 2 of his last 6 fights
Robert Whittaker Form
Robert Whittaker is a former UFC middleweight champion with a professional record of 26-8 (10 KOs, 5 Subs).
Whittaker debuted in the UFC back in December 2012 as a welterweight, but after a couple of defeats he made the move up to 185lbs and never looked back.
He reeled off six consecutive victories to earn himself a fight for the interim middleweight crown in July 2017.
‘Bobby Knuckles’ took his chance as he out-pointed Yoel Romero over five rounds to claim the belt, and he was later promoted to undisputed champion of the division.
Whittaker beat Romero via decision in the rematch too, only to surrender the title in his next outing as he was knocked out in the second round by Israel Adesanya.
The 34-year-old New Zealander responded quickly though, recording unanimous decision wins over Darren Till, Jared Cannonier and Kelvin Gastelum to secure a rematch with Adesanya.
He again came up short against ‘The Last Stylebender’ though, as he dropped the rematch by unanimous decision.
Whittaker responded with a points win over Marvin Vettori, but failed to land another crack at the title when he lost an eliminator fight with Dricus Du Plessis via second-round knockout.
The New Zealander again rebounded quickly from a loss, beating Paulo Costa on points, and he backed it up as he then knocked out Ikram Aliskerov in the first round.
However, the former champion failed to make it three-in-a-row, as he was submitted in the first round by Khamzat Chimaev last October.
Reinier De Ridder Form
Reinier De Ridder is a former ONE middleweight champion with a professional record of 20-2 (5 KOs, 13 Subs).
De Ridder first made his name on the European scene, before signing with ONE Championship in 2019.
He quickly became a two-weight champion as he submitted Aung La Nsang to win the middleweight title and then beat the same opponent via decision to claim the light-heavyweight crown.
The 34-year-old Dutchman then made two successful defences of his middleweight crown as he submitted Kiamrian Abbasov in the third round and Vitaly Bigdash in the first.
De Ridder’s streak was halted in his next fight though, as he was knocked out in the first round by Anatoly Malykhin to lose the light-heavyweight title.
Then, in the rematch, RDR lost his middleweight title to Malykhin by third-round knockout.
‘The Dutch Knight’ signed with the UFC later that year and ended 2024 by submitting Gerald Meerschaert in the third round of his debut fight.
He backed up that victory with two more wins in the first half of this year, submitting Kevin Holland in the first round before stopping Bo Nickal with strikes in the second.
Verdict
Reinier De Ridder is undoubtedly a dangerous fighter, but Robert Whittaker is no easy gatekeeper in the middleweight division.
His skillset is perfectly tailored to deal with RDR, so we are backing Whittaker to have his hand raised here.
His skillset is perfectly tailored to deal with RDR, so we are backing Whittaker to have his hand raised here.
Robert Whittaker
Winner
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