Robert Whittaker is on his first losing skid in more than 11 years after UFC Abu Dhabi, raising questions about his future.

Robert Whittaker is keeping his chin high after a super tight split decision loss to Reinier de Ridder in their UFC Abu Dhabi main event.

Since moving up to middleweight, ‘The Reaper’ has never found himself coming off of back-to-back losses until now. Robert Whittaker was beaten by Reinier de Ridder in the main event of UFC Abu Dhabi this past weekend.

Whittaker (26-9 MMA, 17-7 UFC) was lost a split decision to Reinier de Ridder (21-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) in Saturday's main event at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. He almost finished De Ridder when he dropped him in Round 3, but the former ONE dual-champion hung tough to outlast him.

Reinier de Ridder will turn his attention to a middleweight title shot next, after beating former champion Robert Whittaker in the main event of UFC Abu Dhabi.

Head-to-toe Middleweight bout breakdown for their main event match this weekend (Sat., July 26, 2025) at UFC Abu Dhabi inside Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

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