De Ridder defeats Whittaker by split decision in Abu Dhabi

Reinier de Ridder took home a split-decision victory Saturday over Robert Whittaker in the main event of UFC Fight Night at Abu Dhabi.

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De Ridder (21-2-0 MMA) earned a 48-47 margin from two judges, Ben Cartlidge and David Lethaby, while Mike Bell was the lone judge to give the edge to Whittaker (27-9-0 MMA) at 48-47.

Whittaker landed a big knockdown with a strike in the third round of the middleweight match, but de Ridder recovered and dominated the stat sheet. De Ridder landed 192 total strikes, while Whittaker connected on only 70. Additionally, de Ridder recorded two takedowns.

"I expected to take him down and choke him out," de Ridder said. "He was amazing. So tough, so durable, heavy f--ing hands."

The 34-year-old continues to rise up the ranks in the middleweight division, picking up his fourth straight UFC win and fifth MMA victory in a row.

Elsewhere on the main card, Bogdan Guskov (18-3-0 MMA) knocked out Nikita Krylov (30-11-0 MMA) 4:18 into the first round of their light heavyweight matchup. It is the fourth consecutive win by either knockout or submission for the Uzbekistani.