Reinier de Ridder will look to defeat his first former UFC champion when he returns for his third outing of the year.
De Ridder made a big breakthrough after stopping Bo Nickal in May to end the American’s undefeated streak.
As a result of his three wins inside the Octagon, ‘The Dutch Knight’ will now compete in his first main event when de Ridder faces Robert Whittaker in Abu Dhabi.
Whittaker has his sights set on a fairy tale ending, and he’s certainly no stranger to facing the division’s newest up and coming contender.
However, one fighter on the roster believes that ‘The Reaper’ may have some issues in this particular matchup even as one of the most accomplished fighters in the history of the division.
Robert Valentin expects a statement performance from Reinier de Ridder at UFC Abu Dhabi
In a recent interview with Bloody Elbow, UFC middleweight Robert Valentin previewed the main event of UFC Abu Dhabi.
The former contestant on ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ was able to provide first-hand knowledge during the breakdown, having trained with Reinier de Ridder in the past.
He speaks highly of ‘The Dutch Knight’, despite recognizing the challenge that awaits him on Saturday night.
While Valentin credits Robert Whittaker with being “the fastest striker in the middleweight division”, he believes that ‘The Reaper’ will fall short in one area.
In his last outing, Whittaker was submitted by Khamzat Chimaev in the opening round, as he quickly tapped to a choke having been injured.
Valentin believes that ‘RDR’ will be able to implement a similar approach that saw ‘Borz’ make a statement at UFC 308 by putting his opponent away once they hit the floor.
“At one point, they’re going to be so close together that Reinier is going to get a hold of him and take him down and strangle him. I think we can also take that away from the Khamzat fight and Reinier will do that as well and we’ll see kind of the holes in the game of Whittaker when it comes to defending the choke and the grappling.”
Robert Whittaker’s two submission losses are at opposite ends of his career
While he has proven to be effective in other areas, it’s no secret that Reinier de Ridder’s greatest strength is his submission skills.
‘The Dutch Knight’ has won 14 of his 20 pro wins via submission, with four knockouts and two decisions on his record.
Robert Whittaker may have been finished in decisive fashion by Khamzat Chimaev but he only had one other submission loss on his record, which came all the way back in 2011.
| Opponents who have beaten Robert Whittaker | Event | Method of victory |
| Khamzat Chimaev | UFC 308 – 2024 | Face crank – Round 1 |
| Dricus du Plessis | UFC 290 – 2023 | KO – Round 2 |
| Israel Adesanya | UFC 271 – 2022 | Unanimous decision |
| Israel Adesanya | UFC 243 – 2019 | KO – Round 2 |
| Stephen Thompson | UFC 170 – 2014 | KO – Round 1 |
| Court McGee | UFC Fight Night 27 – 2013 | Split decision |
| Jesse Juarez | CFC 21 – 2012 | Unanimous decision |
| Hoon Kim | Legend FC 6 – 2011 | Triangle choke – Round 1 |
With a takedown defense of 81%, according to UFC stats, Whittaker won’t be easy to get to the ground either.