UFC Abu Dhabi: Robert Whittaker Vs. Reinier De Ridder Full Fight Card
With UFC 318 in the rearview mirror, the next event on the UFC schedule is a UFC Fight Night event in Abu Dhabi. The UFC Abu Dhabi card takes place on Saturday, July 26. In the main event, former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker looks to turn back the fast-rising Reinier De Ridder.
The UFC Abu Dhabi main card airs on ABC following prelims on ESPN. The preliminary card for the UFC Fight Night event begins at noon ET. The main card kicks off at 3:00 p.m. ET.
UFC Abu Dhabi Fight Card
Robert Whittaker vs. Reinier de Ridder - Middleweight
Petr Yan vs. Marcus McGhee - Bantamweight
Sharabutdin Magomedov vs. Marc-André Barriault - Middleweight
Asu Almabayev vs. Jose Ochoa - Flyweight
Nikita Krylov vs. Bogdan Guskov - Light heavyweight
Bryce Mitchell vs. Said Nurmagomedov - Bantamweight
Muslim Salikhov vs. Carlos Leal Miranda - Welterweight
Davey Grant vs. Da'Mon Blackshear - Bantamweight
Amanda Ribas vs. Tabatha Ricci - Strawweight
İbo Aslan vs. Billy Elekana - Light heavyweight
Mohammad Yahya vs. Steven Nguyen - Featherweight
Martin Buday vs. Marcus Buchecha - Heavyweight
*Bout order not official at this time
UFC Abu Dhabi Fight Card Date:
Saturday, July 26, 2025
UFC Abu Dhabi Fight Card Location:
Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi
UFC Abu Dhabi Time:
Main Card: 3:00 p.m. ET
Preliminary Card: 12:00 p.m. ET
UFC Abu Dhabi Main Event: Robert Whittaker Vs. Renier de Ridder
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 17: Robert Whittaker of New Zealand prepares to face Paulo Costa of ... More Brazil in their middleweight fight during UFC 298 at Honda Center on February 17, 2024 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
Whittaker (26-8) is the No. 5 fighter in the official UFC middleweight rankings. Whittaker is 15-4 with the UFC since June 2014. His only losses have come to Israel Adesanya, Dricus du Plessis, and Khamzat Chimaev. Adesanya is a former UFC middleweight champ. Du Plessis is the current UFC 185-pound champion, and Chimaev is scheduled to face Du Plessis in a title fight at UFC 319 in August. In short, the 34-year-old is the gate keeper to the elite of the division.
Whittaker is coming off a nasty submission loss to Chimaev at UFC 308 in October 2024.
DES MOINES, IOWA - MAY 03: Reinier de Ridder of The Netherlands reacts after his TKO victory over Bo ... More Nickal in their middleweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Wells Fargo Arena on May 03, 2025 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC)
De Ridder (20-2) has been climbing the UFC middleweight ladder since he joined the promotion after holding the ONE middleweight and light heavyweight titles. The 34-year-old is No. 12 in the UFC 185-pound division. He is 3-0 with the promotion with stoppage wins over Gerald Meerschaert, Kevin Holland and Bo Nickal. His win over Nickal was his most recent victory, coming in May of this year.
Robert Whittaker Vs. Reinier de Ridder Opening Odds
When BetOnline first published the betting line for the UFC Abu Dhabi 2025 main event, Whittaker was listed as the -190 betting favorite over the +165 De Ridder. Those odds have shifted slightly. Today, Whittaker is listed at -145, while De Ridder is a +125 betting underdog.
The UFC Abu Dhabi fight card co-main event was Movsar Evloev vs. Aaron Pico, but that bout fell apart earlier this month when Evloev withdrew from the UFC Abu Dhabi card because of injury.
According to MMA Junkie, the UFC plans to keep the matchup and schedule Evloev vs. Pico for a later event.
We will have more on the UFC Abu Dhabi fight card as fight night nears.
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