Robert Whittaker News

Dylan Bowker - September 2, 2025

A former UFC middleweight champion seems unsure about his path back to gold after his recent setback at UFC Abu Dhabi, but does still have competition-based motivations going forward. Robert Whittaker was the former champion in question, with the previous 185-pound titleholder expressing this thought during a recent interview with Submission Radio. The 34-year-old recently dropped a close split decision to former two-division ONE Championship titleholder Reinier de Ridder in July. At a time when the middleweight hierarchy is stacked like it hasn’t been in years, with looming high-stakes title eliminator-style bouts set up with RDR clashing with Anthony Hernandez at UFC Vancouver, as well as this weekend’s UFC Paris headliner with Nassourdine Imavov against Caio Borralho, it can become difficult to stand out as a prospective title challenger.

Harry Kettle - August 5, 2025

UFC middleweight Caio Borralho believes Robert Whittaker is getting close to retiring from mixed martial arts. As we know, Robert Whittaker is one of the best middleweights of his generation. There are some out there who might dispute that but in reality, it’s the truth. He has done some incredible things throughout the course of his career, which includes becoming UFC middleweight champion.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 29, 2025

Robert Whittaker has delivered a statement following his UFC Abu Dhabi loss against Reinier de Ridder. Whittaker and de Ridder shared the Octagon this past Saturday inside Etihad Arena. The bout went five rounds and was competitive throughout. Ultimately, de Ridder got the nod via split decision, and he might be on his way to a UFC Middleweight Championship opportunity against the winner of Dricus du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev.

Harry Kettle - July 29, 2025

MMA analyst Din Thomas has given his thoughts on what the immediate future could hold for Robert Whittaker. Last weekend, Robert Whittaker fell short in his attempt to overcome and defeat Reinier de Ridder in the main event of UFC Abu Dhabi. While it was an incredibly close fight, it wasn’t quite enough from ‘The Reaper’ as RDR just about edged past him via split decision.

Chris Taylor - July 26, 2025

Robert Whittaker has suffered back-to-back losses for the first time at middleweight, this after dropping a split decision to Reinier de Ridder. Robert Whittaker (26-9 MMA) and Reinier de Ridder (21-2 MMA) collided in the headliner of today’s UFC on ABC 9 event in Abu Dhabi.

Chris Taylor - July 26, 2025

Reinier de Ridder was admittedly surprised that one judge got it “completely wrong” when scoring his fight with Robert Whittaker at UFC Abu Dhabi. De Ridder (21-2 MMA) and Whittaker (26-9 MMA) squared off in a pivotal middleweight main event this afternoon at UFC on ABC 6.

Chris Taylor - July 26, 2025

Today’s UFC Abu Dhabi event was headlined by a key middleweight contest featuring Robert Whittaker taking on Reinier de Ridder. Whittaker (26-9 MMA) had entered the contest looking to rebound, this after suffering a submission loss to Khamzat Chimaev in his most previous Octagon appearance at UFC 308 last October. Prior to that setback, ‘The Reaper’ was coming off back-to-back wins over Paulo Costa and Ikram Aliskerov respectively.

Chris Taylor - July 26, 2025

We have you covered for all of today’s UFC Abu Dhabi’s results, including the main event between Robert Whittaker and Reinier de Ridder. Whittaker (26-9 MMA) will enter the contest looking to rebound, this after suffering a submission loss to Khamzat Chimaev in his most recent Octagon appearance at UFC 308 last October. Prior to that setback, ‘The Reaper’ had scored back-to-back wins over Paulo Costa and Ikram Aliskerov respectively.

Cole Shelton - July 24, 2025

Robert Whittaker believes Reinier de Ridder hasn’t fought anyone like him or with his skills. Whittaker is set to headline UFC Abu Dhabi on Saturday against de Ridder in a pivotal middleweight bout. Whittaker is coming off a stoppage loss to Khamzat Chimaev and is looking to get back into the win column in a big way on Saturday.

Harry Kettle - July 24, 2025

UFC star Reinier de Ridder will attempt to get Robert Whittaker tired when the pair battle in the main event of UFC Abu Dhabi. Since entering the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Reinier de Ridder has been on a sensational run of form. He’s unbeaten, he’s got several finishes under his belt, and he is set to face Robert Whittaker on Saturday night in arguably the biggest fight of his career. At this point, it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see him fight for the belt next if he’s able to get past Whittaker.

Cole Shelton - July 23, 2025

In the main event of UFC Abu Dhabi, a middleweight bout goes down on Saturday as former champion Robert Whittaker takes on Reinier de Ridder. Heading into the bout, Whittaker is a -160 favorite, while the Dutch fighter is a +124 underdog on FanDuel. Ahead of the scrap at UFC Abu Dhabi, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the intriguing middleweight bout. The majority of pros believe Whittaker will be able to keep the fight standing and get a win, and possibly even finish de Ridder at UFC Abu Dhabi.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 22, 2025

Robert Whittaker knows the stakes of his middleweight bout against Reinier de Ridder on Saturday. Many fans were pleasantly surprised when Whittaker vs. de Ridder was first announced. While de Ridder is the No. 12-ranked UFC middleweight, many believe his accomplishments in ONE Championship along with his performance against Bo Nickal warranted top five competition.

Cole Shelton - July 7, 2025

Robert Whittaker is closing in on the end of his UFC career. Whittaker is set to headline UFC Abu Dhabi on July 26 against Reinier de Ridder in an intriguing bout. ‘The Reaper’ is looking to get back into the win column after a submission loss to Khamzat Chimaev. Ahead of his return, Whittaker says he has four fights left in his career, which includes ending his career on top.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 26, 2025

An ex-UFC titleholder doesn’t believe Saturday night ends well for Charles Oliveira. Oliveira will be facing Ilia Topuria for the vacant UFC Lightweight Championship. The title fight will headline UFC 317 on Saturday in Las Vegas. Once the fight begins, Islam Makhachev will officially relinquish the 155-pound gold.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 18, 2025

Former UFC Middleweight Champion Robert Whittaker has his next fight booked, and it isn’t what fans were expecting. While rising contenders such as Caio Borralho had been pounding the table to fight “The Reaper,” Whittaker made it clear publicly that he preferred to fight Sean Strickland since their paths have never crossed inside the Octagon. Neither Borralho nor Strickland will be facing Whittaker next.

BJ Penn Staff - June 5, 2025

Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker has responded to a bit of trash talk from a fairly surprising source: featherweight contender Yair Rodriguez. Mexico’s Rodriguez is one of the top contenders in the UFC featherweight division at the moment. However, he was decisively beaten by Australian champion Alexander Volkanovski just a few years ago, and is widely seen as less deserving of a title shot than Russia’s Movsar Evloev, who has never lost a fight.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - April 7, 2025

Robert Whittaker believes there is one important factor when it comes to the potential outcome of Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes. Volkanovski and Lopes will collide in the UFC 314 headliner. The bout will be contested for the vacant UFC Featherweight Championship. Champion Ilia Topuria is moving on from 145 pounds, and the title will officially become vacant once Volkanovski vs. Lopes begins in Miami.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - March 26, 2025

One surging UFC middleweight didn’t take too kindly to Robert Whittaker’s recent comments. Whittaker has made it clear that he’s eyeing a summer showdown with fellow ex-UFC middleweight titleholder Sean Strickland. Despite this, “The Reaper” has been called out by rising contenders such as Caio Borralho and Roman Dolidze.