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

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 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,

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 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.

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.

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."

On Saturday at UFC Abu Dhabi, de Ridder shares a card with another former ONE fighter when Marcus Buchecha makes his octagon debut after he endured a similarly frustrating run there. While he certainly doesn't wish anybody ill will,