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,

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

UFC middleweight Reinier de Ridder solidified himself as a legitimate title contender in defeating Robert Whittaker by split decision at UFC Fight Night in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.

The decision was a split set of 48-47 scorecards. The event took place at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The bout was exciting and competitive throughout. De Ridder's jab and step-knee were successful throughout the bout.

Reinier de Ridder remained undefeated in the UFC with a hard-fought split decision victory over former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker in a grueling five-round affair. While he did get absolutely bombed with a punch that knocked him to the ground in the third round,

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.

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

MMA Junkie's Mike Bohn plays matchmaker and looks ahead to what makes sense for Robert Whittaker in this edition of "Sean Shelby's Shoes."