Robert Whittaker thinks he "ticked all the boxes" to get his hand raised vs. Reinier de Ridder at UFC Abu Dhabi.

Reinier de Ridder has officially entered the world of the middleweight elite after a grueling battle against Robert Whittaker at UFC Abu Dhabi.

The latest UFC Fight Night event was held in Abu Dhabi and was headlined by a middleweight clash between Robert Whittaker and Reinier De Ridder.

The middleweight division is under spotlight, and Reinier de Ridder positioned himself for a big fight after UFC Abu Dhabi.

Reinier de Ridder picked up the biggest win of his career on Saturday when he took a hard-fought split decision over former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker in the main event of UFC Fight Night from Abu Dhabi.

What does Reinier de Ridder's win over Robert Whittaker mean for the middleweight division? Brett Okamoto provides his takeaways from UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. de Ridder.

It was a grueling and competitive fight, but de Ridder felt comfortable in winning three out of the five rounds they competed in. He was confident all three judges would agree with him, however, only two judges did,

A middleweight clash with title implications headlines UFC Fight Night in Abu Dhabi. Former UFC champion Robert Whittaker and former two-division ONE Championship king Reinier de Ridder fight weeks before a 185-pound title fight at UFC 319.

Reinier de Ridder had one perilous moment against Robert Whittaker, but overall “The Dutch Knight” is confident he deserved the nod on the scorecards Saturday in the UFC Abu Dhabi main event.

UFC on ABC 9 took place at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on Saturday afternoon, with former champion Robert Whittaker facing Reiner de Ridder in the main event. Here are the full results.

Robert Whittaker’s teeth were brutally shattered in his last UFC fight. And with ‘The Reaper’ set to return to the same venue as his crushing defeat to Khamzat Chimaev last time