UFC Fight Night: Reinier de Ridder defeats Robert Whittaker by split decision
Reinier de Ridder took home a split-decision victory Saturday over Robert Whittaker in the main event of UFC Fight Night at Abu Dhabi. De Ridder (21-2-0 MMA) earned a 48-47 margin from two judges, Ben Cartlidge and David Lethaby, while Mike Bell was the lone judge to give the edge to Whittaker (27-9-0 MMA) at 48-47. Whittaker landed a big knockdown with a strike in the third round of the middleweight match, but de Ridder recovered and dominated the stat sheet. De Ridder landed 192 total strikes, while Whittaker connected on only 70.


