Robert Whittaker has booked his first fight since losing in devastating fashion last October, looking to return to the middleweight title conversation.
After impressive wins over Paulo Costa and Ikram Aliskerov, Robert Whittaker put himself firmly back into the middleweight title conversation, knocking at the door of Dricus Du Plessis.
Despite that, he was then matched up with Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 308 last October, unfortunately losing in devastating fashion after Chimaev crushed his jaw in the first round.
And now, a few months removed from his brutal loss which required surgery, ‘The Reaper’ has been booked for his next fight.
Robert Whittaker’s next fight booked against soaring middleweight contender
This Saturday, news broke that the former middleweight champion’s next fight has been booked to come against the soaring middleweight contender, Reinier De Ridder.
Since joining the premier promotion in 2024, the Dutch fighter has scored three impressive wins on the bounce, first scoring a submission win over fellow grappler, Gerald Meerschaert.
The former ONE Championship multi-weight champion then scored a first round victory over Kevin Holland, showcasing that he was going to be a big threat in the UFC 185lb division.
However, his most impressive win came this past Saturday at UFC Des Moines when he snatched Bo Nickal’s undefeated record from him, scoring a second round TKO win after a hellacious knee to the body.
Whittaker vs De Ridder will headline the UFC’s return to Abu Dhabi on July 26, and with a win over ‘The Reaper’, De Ridder would immediately put himself into title contention after just a year in the promotion.
The middleweight division is moving in the right direction
The current king of the division, Du Plessis is still waiting for his likely fight against Khamzat Chimaev to be announced, with fans continuing to call for it to happen.
And with the constant calls, Du Plessis recently provided a positive update, stating that the fight will likely take place in the next 2-4 months.
That is despite the fact that rumors surfaced regarding a serious injury to Du Plessis, which later turned out to be false as the champion shot them down.