Reinier De Ridder Secures Nail-Biting Split Decision Win Over Robert Whittaker – UFC Abu Dhabi Highlights
Reinier de Ridder remains undefeated inside the Octagon, scoring a closely-contested decision victory over former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker at UFC Abu Dhabi.
As expected, de Ridder came out immediately looking to take Whittaker to the mat. Despite a solid effort, ‘The Reaper’ stayed upright for the entirety of the opening round. However, that changed in the second stanza when a well-timed knee to the midsection from de Ridder appeared to fold his opponent, allowing the Dutchman to score his first takedown of the fight.
Feeling a wave of momentum, de Ridder comes out swinging big in the third, but eats a vicious overhand right from Whittaker that sends him crashing to the canvas. Whittaker moved in, looking to drop bombs on the mat, but ‘RDR’ defended, scrambling back to his feet and taking a bit of a breather in the clinch.
Before long, de Ridder secured another takedown, keeping Whittaker’s back to the mat for the remainder of the third. Though he racked up control time, it likely wasn’t enough to offset being dropped by Whittaker earlier in the round.
After an exhausting pace in the first 15 minutes, things slowed significantly in the fourth with de Ridder utilizing the clinch to eat up time and stay out of danger. De Ridder’s strategy remained the same in the fifth as Whittaker attempted to slug it out and potentially swing the scorecards in his favor.
Unfortunately for Whittaker, de Ridder was far too effective in shutting down the New Zealander’s offense, sending us to the scorecards for what would be a razor-close decision.
Official Result: Reinier de Ridder def. Robert Whittaker via split decision (47-48, 48-47, 48-47).
