Preview: UFC on ABC 9 ‘Whittaker vs. de Ridder’

---

The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s first trip to the United Arab Emirates this year brings a 12-fight slate that is very typical of its efforts in the region over the last three or four years. While Abu Dhabi became a crucial partner for the UFC in 2020 as it sought to return to live events during the Covid pandemic, it has remained a frequent landing spot ever since, and the cards have heavily featured fighters who either hail from the Middle East, came up through promotions native to the region such as Brave CF or UAE Warriors, or have difficulty securing visas to fight in North America due to nationality or other factors.

This Saturday’s offering from the industry leader suffered a bit with the loss of Movsar Evloev, who had been set to welcome former Bellator MMA super-prospect Aaron Pico to the promotion, but even without that co-main event, the five-fight main card is a solid one. Former middleweight champ Robert Whittaker, who halted the rapid rise of Ikram Aliskerov in the very same arena a year ago, will look to repeat that feat against former One Championship two-division standout Reinier de Ridder—while reaffirming his own place in the title picture. The same could be said of Petr Yan, who is set to face the streaking Marcus McGhee in the co-headliner, and the three remaining fights feature at least one fighter from the CIS, as has become typical of UFC Abu Dhabi cards.

Now on to the preview for the UFC on ABC 9 “Whittaker vs. de Ridder”:

Middleweights

Robert Whittaker (26-8, 17-6 UFC) vs. Reinier de Ridder (20-2, 3-0 UFC)

Odds: Whittaker (-150); de Ridder (+120)

Whittaker has been a presence in the UFC for so long that it is shocking to realize that he is still only 34 years old. Since joining the promotion through the “Smashes” season of “The Ultimate Fighter” as a baby-faced 21-year-old, the New Zealand-born Aussie has established himself as one of the greatest middleweights of all time and one of the UFC’s most popular competitors.

Having said that, it is fair to ask whether “Bobby Knuckles” is an old 34, as he has absorbed an ungodly amount of punishment across his UFC run in wins as well as losses. There isn’t much of a test sample from which to judge: Whittaker fought three times last year, but of the three, only his clash with Paulo Costa at UFC 298 in March made it out of the first round and was in any way competitive. His fights with Aliskerov and Khamzat Chimaev were both over quickly and in extremely one-sided fashion, as he devastated Aliskerov without absorbing a single serious strike, then was absolutely demolished on the ground by Chimaev.

Assuming Whittaker is anywhere similar to the fighter that survived a rough first round to pull ahead of Costa across the final 10 minutes, he remains one of the best strikers in the division. Despite being one of the smallest high-level middleweights of the modern era, he is extremely effective as an outside kickboxer. Everything works off his beautiful jab, mixing in a solid cross and kicks to all levels, including a lead-leg high kick that has stunned or dropped countless foes over the years. His takedown defense has traditionally been almost bulletproof, but that came crashing to a halt against Chimaev, who rag-dolled Whittaker for three minutes before locking up a brutal face crank for the finish.

De Ridder will hope to repeat that feat—at least to the extent of getting his hand raised—against Whittaker on Saturday. “The Dutch Knight” came to the UFC less than a year ago as a former two-division champ in ONE, and has rattled off three impressive wins already. His first victory came before he even entered the Octagon against Gerald Meerschaert last November, as he made the middleweight limit without apparent difficulty despite having plied his trade at 205 and 225 nominally hydrated pounds in his former promotion. His dominant run has placed him on the doorstep of a title shot if he should make it four straight on Saturday.

Physically and stylistically, de Ridder couldn’t be much more different from Whittaker. Where Whittaker is a compact, burly, explosive kickboxer, the towering and lanky de Ridder is as pure a grappling specialist as there is to be found in high-level MMA at the moment—even if he finished off his last opponent, Bo Nickal, with some very Dutch-looking clinch knees. De Ridder is a sensational submission artist, equally adept at threatening with chokes from the front headlock, lightning-quick back takes, or more exotic fare such as the inverted triangle he used on Vitaly Bigdash three years ago.

De Ridder has always lived and died—usually lived; his only career losses came against Anatoly Malykhin—by his ability to get the fight to the ground in the time, place and position of his choosing. His takedown entries are not especially fast or technical, and even against relatively lower-level competition he has at times been reduced to pulling guard to bring his opponent into his wheelhouse. At his best, he uses his height and leverage in the clinch to enable trips or throws. Thus far, only Malykhin, who enjoyed a serious size advantage, has truly controlled a fight against de Ridder.

All of that makes Saturday’s main event intriguing. We have seen de Ridder lose in recent years, but not by any path Whittaker is likely to follow and vice versa; while Chimaev submitted “The Reaper” quickly, he did so with a kind of physically overwhelming wrestling that has never been part of de Ridder’s game. Outside of the Chimaev fight, Whittaker has been extremely difficult to take down and just as hard to keep there.

Assuming that is still the case, this matchup may be rough sledding for de Ridder, whose distance striking has always been a means to an end. Whittaker’s footwork, speed and volume should make the difference as the taller, slower man tries to corral him against the fence for takedowns, and the damage will pile up. The pick is Whittaker by third-round KO.



Jump To »
Whittaker vs. de Ridder
Yan vs. McGhee
Magomedov vs. Barriault
Almabayev vs. Ochoa
Krylov vs. Guskov
The Prelims