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

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.

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.

Paulo Costa was quick to react to De Ridder’s UFC Abu Dhabi win over Whittaker. The charismatic Brazilian is not one to mince his words, and that was on display again as Costa claimed he would knock out De Ridder three times per round.

Former two-division ONE Championship titleholder Reinier de Ridder arguably may already be the most successful fighter to go from ONE to the UFC. The Dutchman has won his first three fights in the Octagon since his November debut,

Reinier De Ridder eyes the winner of Dricus Du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev title fight after defeating a former champion.

Reinier de Ridder didn’t have many kind things to say about his former employers at ONE Championship and the Singapore based promotion has only faced even more struggles since his exit.