UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. de Ridder Preview and Predictions

Overseas we go, as the UFC rolls on this summer with an event held once again inside the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Headlining the card is a high stakes middleweight fight between former champion Robert Whittaker and former ONE champion Reinier de Ridder. Whittaker is no stranger to this venue, as his last fight occurred under the same roof. He hopes for a different outcome this time, rather than the painful first round submission loss he suffered at the hands of Khamzat Chimaev back at UFC 308. His opponent has known only success since signing with the UFC. de Ridder has fought three times inside the UFC and has scored finishes in all three of those contests. He submitted Gerald Meerschaert and Kevin Holland before most recently ending Bo Nickal’s undefeated record by way of vicious knees in the second round of their May encounter.

Bantamweights take the stage in the co-main event as another former champion returns to action in hopes of mounting one more run to the top. Petr Yan has put together two wins in a row after an extended slump. He will try and hold off the hard charging Marcus McGhee who, like de Ridder in the main event, is yet to taste defeat inside the UFC. One of these men will emerge as a title contender while the other has his hopes dashed as they are both on the wrong side of 30 and closer to the end of their careers than the beginning.

UFC Abu Dhabi airs live on ESPN+ starting at 12 p.m. ET. The prelims also air on ESPN at 12 p.m. ET and the main card airs on ABC at 3 p.m. ET. Combat Press writers Andrew Sumian and Matt Petela preview the action in this week’s Toe-toe-Toe.

Reinier de Ridder has not lost under the UFC banner; can he continue his hot streak and take out a former champion in Robert Whittaker?

Sumian: After the highs of UFC 318, the UFC is keeping the hot streak going with an incredible main event well above average fight card this coming weekend. There is no doubt that the UFC middleweight division is heating up. The contender list continues to grow with the likes of Nassourdine Imavov, Caio Borralho, Anthony Hernandez, and now the surging Reiner de Ridder who is facing the toughest test of his UFC campaign. Yes, Robert Whittaker is definitely past his prime at this point in his career but he is still a formidable opponent for any middleweight contender looking to enter the top of the middleweight division.

De Ridder has been near perfect in his mixed martial arts career. He boasts some of the most prolific grappling MMA today and has steadily improved his striking. In his last two outings, he made quick work of both Kevin Holland and Bo Nickal in impressive fashion. Still, there is a lot more that the MMA community needs to see before stamping him off as a title contender in the near future. If he is able to get past a veteran like Whittaker, he will absolutely find himself one fight away from a title shot.

Much like Dustin Poirier, Robert Whittaker is one of the more well-liked fighters on the UFC roster today. He is charismatic, calm and an absolute killer when it comes to fighting in the cage. Unfortunately, Whittaker has come up short in critical fights in the second half of his career and a title shot seems unlikely given how stacked the division is. Still, Whittaker is only 34 years old and can definitely hang around for some time as a top 10 middleweight. If he hopes to keep any title aspirations in play, a win over the number twelve ranked De Ridder is critical.

I really like Robert Whittaker and truly enjoy his fighting style. However, I am going with De Ridder in this one. It seems like the middleweight division is swiftly changing guard and a new surge of contenders are taking over the top of the division. De Ridder is taking a huge step up in competition but I think he has the tools to whether Whittaker’s striking and eventually find a submission on the ground. De Ridder by third round submission.

Petela: This is a weird thing to say but I don’t know if we will be able to tell how high the ceiling is for Reinier de Ridder if he beats Robert Whittaker. Don’t get me wrong, Whittaker is a sure fire hall of famer but like a few other fighters on this card I think that we have seen the best of him and that those days are not coming back. The jaw injury he suffered against Khamzat Chimaev was gruesome and that may become a major issue against RDR.

de Ridder is an otherworldly grappler with a squeeze normally reserved for boa constrictors. If he can latch onto Whittaker this fight will end just as painfully as Whittaker’s fight with Chimaev. He only needs to get close once in order to begin a methodical sequence that ends with a submission. At this point in his illustrious career, and after so many injuries, I don’t think Whittaker will be able to stay away and kickbox his way to victory. He has just a hair less bounce in his step than he did when he was competing for the championship and against RDR that hair less bounce will make all the difference in the world. As painful as this is to write, I think Whittaker will get submitted by mounted guillotine before the end of the first round and fans will be faced with the unfortunate realization that this all-time great fighter is no longer in his prime.

This is a massive step up in competition for Marcus McGhee; does he extend his winning streak to seven and announce himself as a legitimate contender?

Petela: Yes. This fight will do two things; show the world that Marcus McGhee is a force to be reckoned with and show the world that the best of Petr Yan is behind him and he is no longer capable of beating the best of the best. Yan has won two in a row after a three fight losing streak and he didn’t look bad at all in either of his wins, one over Song Yadong and one over Deiveson Fogueiredo. However, as we have seen time and time again in mixed martial arts, fighters get old in the blink of an eye and once they lose a half step it doesn’t come back. While he did look good in those two recent wins, I think it is fair to say that Yan did not look exactly like the same fighter who won the belt over Jose Aldo or even the same fighter who came up just short in the rematch against Aljamain Sterling.

Marcus McGhee has finished five of his six opponents on his winning streak and specifically three of his first four UFC opponents. He is an older guy himself for the lower weight classes at 35 but it certainly seems via the eye test that he’s still on the rise. I don’t think he scores a finish but I do think that he is able to outwork Yan and be the fresher fighter for fifteen minutes en route to a lopsided victory.

Sumian: It has been a while since my colleague and I are completely misaligned. Marcus McGhee is not only 3 years older than Yan, but his best win inside the UFC octagon came against Jonathan Martinez. Petr Yan’s last five opponents are Aljamain Sterling, Sean O’Malley, Merab Dvalishvili, Song Yadong, and Deiveson Figueiredo. No disrespect to McGhee, but there is simply no way Yan is going to lose this caliber of a fighter. Yan is going to use his speed and striking superiority to win a fairly lopsided decision and find himself next in line for a bantamweight title shot.

What one fighter’s UFC career is on the ropes at this event?

Sumian: It is getting pretty dicey for Amanda Ribas. She is on a two fight losing streak and boasts some of the cringe worthy mic work in MMA today. All jokes aside, a third loss in a row will put her in a difficult position given her last win came in November of 2023. Even with a loss, I believe she will be around for at least one more but it is getting close to curtain call if she cannot live up to the hype she once had.

Petela: Bryce Mitchell. You can only be super outlandish and a bit nutty with your actions outside of the cage when you are performing well inside the cage. Dropping to bantamweight is not going to help him and he won’t be able to take a shot whatsoever. I think he gets crushed, probably cut by the promotion and then we will see him go bananas online with head-scratching theories about the promotion and it’s connection to the deep state that don’t make too much sense but somehow don’t seem entirely crazy either.

Which fight is the sleeper match-up on this card?

Petela: Martin Buday vs. Marcus Buchecha. For many fans who only follow the UFC, this will be their introduction to Buchecha. The legendary grappler is fighting in the UFC for the first time after a successful run with ONE. He will impress everyone by running through Buday and start his quick ascent up the heavyweight division.

Sumian: The welterweight matchup between Muslim Salikhov and Carelos Leal Miranda should be a lot of fun! I am always willing to tune in when Salikhov is fighting and these two combine for 25 total knockout victories. Someone will go down in this fight and it will be entertaining to say the least.

Who takes home the “Performance of the Night” honors?

Sumian: Have to go with Shara Magomedov. He will finish Marc-Ande Barriault and bounce back from his first professional loss. Magomedov by second round knockout.

Petela: I am going a little out of the box here and saying Amanda Ribas. As far as qualitative analysis as to why I think this way, there is none. I just have a hunch that she feels her back against the wall a little bit given her recent inconsistency and dials in a fantastic performance that reminds us of the short time ago when she was in the thick of the title picture.

Pair this card with…

Petela: This card has a killer main event but after the incredible and emotional night last week at UFC 318 it is still not getting enough attention. Therefore, pair it with a heaping pile of garlic knots. Most times, garlic knots are overlooked because they are paired with pizza but they deserve more love. Forget the calories or lack of nutritional value and just chow down with this traditional side dish as your main course for this matinee fight card.

Sumian: A really good mid-credits scene. We are coming off a really memorable UFC 318 and the UFC is continuing the action with an electric fight night just one week later. Yes, it is not getting the attention it very much deserves, but will deliver for those that tune in.