Former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker is set to make his return to the octagon.
The UFC officially announced on Saturday that Whittaker will square off against the undefeated Reinier de Ridder in the headlining bout for the upcoming UFC Fight Night event in Abu Dhabi. This card is scheduled to take place on July 26 at the Etihad Arena. Reports suggesting this matchup was in the works had previously surfaced from Setanta Sports.
Whittaker is looking to bounce back from a first-round submission loss suffered against Khamzat Chimaev in the co-main event of UFC 308 back in October. Prior to that defeat, “The Reaper” had a strong start to his 2024 campaign with a swift first-round knockout victory over Ikram Aliskerov headlining UFC Saudi Arabia in June. Currently ranked No. 7 in MMA Fighting`s Global Middleweight Rankings, he has secured three wins in his last five appearances.
Reinier de Ridder has maintained an incredibly active schedule since joining the UFC roster. The former two-division champion in ONE Championship holds an impressive 3-0 record inside the octagon, with stoppage victories over Gerald Meerschaert, Kevin Holland, and most recently, Bo Nickal at UFC Des Moines earlier this month. Ranked No. 13 in MMA Fighting`s Global Middleweight Rankings, De Ridder will enter his first UFC main event riding a four-fight winning streak.
According to details provided on the UFC website, the preliminary portion of the UFC Abu Dhabi event is currently slated to begin at Noon ET, with the main card scheduled to kick off at 3 p.m. ET. The event will be broadcast on ESPN+.
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