Reinier de Ridder will want to beat his first former UFC champion when he returns for his third outing of the year.
De Ridder made a big breakthrough after stopping Bo Nickal in May to put an end to the unbeaten streak of the American.
As a result of his three victories in the Octagon, 'The Dutch Knight' will now participate in his first main event when De Ridder is opposite Robert Whittaker in Abu Dhabi.
Whittaker has set his sights on a fairytale -like end, and he is certainly no stranger to the newest emerging competitor of the division.
One hunter on the Roster, however, believes that 'The Reaper' can have some problems in this specific matchup, even as one of the most experienced hunters in the history of the division.
Robert Valentin expects a statement performance by Reinier de Ridder at UFC Abu Dhabi
In a recent interview with Bloody Elbow, UFC Middleweight Robert Valentin has an example of the main event of UFC Abu Dhabi.
The former participant in 'The Ultimate Fighter' was able to offer first -hand knowledge during the demolition, after he had trained Reinier de Ridder in the past.
He speaks very much about 'the Dutch knight', despite recognizing the challenge that waits for him on Saturday night.
While Valentin Robert Whittaker credits with 'the fastest striker in the middleweight division', he believes that 'The Reaper' is short in one area.
In his last outing, Whittaker was submitted in the opening round by Khamzat Chimaev, while quickly tapping a choke that was injured.
Valentin believes that 'RDR' will be able to implement a similar approach in which 'Borz' makes an explanation on UFC 308 by putting his opponent away as soon as they hit the floor.
“At one point they will be so close together that Reinier will get hold of him and get him down and strangle him. I think we can also take that away from the Khamzat and Reinier will do that too and we will see a kind of holes in the game of Whittaker when it comes to defending the choke and the gruemia.”
Robert Whittaker's Two entry losses are on the other side of his career
Although he has been effectively proven in other areas, it is no secret that the greatest power of Reinier de Ridder is his submission skills.
'The Dutch Knight' has won 14 of his 20 Pro victories through entry, with four knockouts and two decisions about his record.
Robert Whittaker may have been finished in a decisive way by Khamzat Chimaev, but he only had another submission loss on his record, which was completely back in 2011.
Opponents Who Have Beaten Robert Whittakerevent METHOD or Victorykhamzat Chimaevufc 308 – 2024FACE Crank – Round 1Drus du Plessisufc 290 – 2023ko – Round 2israel Adesanyaufc 271 – 202UniNAranimous Decisionisrael 2stepephen Thompsonufc 170 – 2014KO – Round 1court McGeufc Fight Night 27 – 2013 split Decision Jesse Juarezcfc 21 – 2012Unanimous Decisionhoon Kimlegend FC 6 – 2011Triangle Choke – Round 1
With a Takedown defense of 81%, according to UFC statistics, Whittaker is also not easy to reach the ground.