Reinier de Ridder predicting a spectacular win over Robert Whittaker at UFC Abu Dhabi: “I need to finish him”

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.

“Hopefully if I can do well, it all depends on how the fight goes,” de Ridder said to MMAJunkie. “Like a win is not enough. I need to finish him. I need to finish him early, hopefully spectacularly, and as I said, we all hope Imavov and Borralho is boring, goes five rounds, nothing happens. That would be perfect, or maybe Khamzat pulls out last minute and they give me a call. We’ll see.”

Reinier de Ridder believes he has the skillset to go out and finish Robert Whittaker early to send a statement to the division. If he does that, he plans to be ready for UFC 319 on Aug. 16 if needed.

“I’ll be ready to fight again, or as I said, I might be ready to step in last minute if necessary,” de Ridder said. “So, we’ll see what happens. Weighing in is the hardest part, so hopefully not weighing in at all. We’ll see.”

de Ridder is a +130 underdog against Whittaker on Saturday at UFC Abu Dhabi.

Reinier de Ridder shares his prediction for Nassourdine Imavov vs Caio Borralho

If Reinier de Ridder does get his hand raised on Saturday against Robert Whittaker, the focus turns to UFC 319 and UFC Paris.

de Ridder will be paying close attention to the middleweight title fight and the potential No. 1 contender fight between Imavov and Borralho. For that fight, he believes Imavov will get the win.

“I’m leaning towards Imavov in that one just because he’s so complete, so relaxed in there,” de Ridder said. “He seems to be very much in control, but hopefully it’s just a boring fight, and nobody wants to watch, nothing happens. That will be ideal.”

For now, the focus for de Ridder is on Saturday and Whittaker at UFC Abu Dhabi.