Robert Whittaker News

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.

Cole Shelton - July 28, 2025

The UFC was in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, on Saturday, July 26, for a solid UFC Abu Dhabi card. The main event saw former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker taking on Reinier de Ridder. Entering the fight, Whittaker was coming off a submission loss to Khamzat Chimaev, which snapped his two-fight winning streak. de Ridder, meanwhile, had an upset knockout win over Bo Nickal last time out.

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.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 25, 2025

The UFC Abu Dhabi weigh-ins have concluded, and fans will be pleased to know that the main event remains intact. Former UFC Middleweight Champion Robert Whittaker will do battle with Reinier de Ridder on Saturday. It’s a key matchup in the 185-pound division, as Whittaker will fight to remain in the title picture. It’ll be a huge opportunity for de Ridder, who is the No. 13-ranked UFC middleweight.

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 21, 2025

Reinier de Ridder is expecting to make a statement in the main event of UFC Abu Dhabi on Saturday. de Ridder is set to headline the card against former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker in a pivotal fight at middleweight. Although the winner of Nassourdibe Imavov vs Caio Borralho appears to be next in line, de Ridder believes that if he has a spectacular finish, as he predicts, he could leapfrog them.

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. - May 12, 2025

One former UFC champion is baffled by Belal Muhammad’s strategy in his UFC 315 loss to Jack Della Maddalena. Muhammad put the UFC Welterweight Championship at stake for the first time this past Saturday. “Remember the Name” hung in tough throughout the title fight, but the striking of Maddalena was on point. Muhammad also didn’t have the same success in the grappling that he’s been used to, and all factors ultimately led to a unanimous decision win for Maddalena.

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.

Josh Evanoff - March 17, 2025

Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker remains interested in a move to 205 pounds. ‘The Reaper’ hasn’t been seen in action since a clash against Khamzat Chimaev last October at UFC 308. Robert Whittaker entered the title eliminator riding a wave of momentum, fresh off a first-round knockout victory over Ikram Aliskerov in June. Sadly for the former middleweight champion, he was quickly taken down and submitted by ‘Borz’ in round one. Five years after losing the gold, Whittaker had suffered another setback.