Reinier de Ridder seemed fairly surprised to hear the announcer read out a dissenting scorecard in the wake of his split decision win over Robert Whittaker at UFC Abu Dhabi. The former two-division ONE Championship titleholder continued his spotless run in the UFC so far by defeating a former middleweight champion in Whittaker. After what was arguably the biggest overall win of his mixed martial arts, RDR spoke to on-site media members who had questions for him in the wake of his big victory.
When asked how confident he was that he had won the bout when the scorecards were being announced, de Ridder said,
“I thought I was… I was surprised that one judge scored it like, completely wrong. I thought I had three rounds at least. But yeah, it is what it is. I hoped to finish him and I didn’t, so you never know what the judges make of it. But I’ll be sure to finish the next guy again.”
Reinier de Ridder vs. Robert Whittaker fighter assessments
Reinier de Ridder versus Robert Whittaker was a hotly contested bout with many mixed martial artists making cases that either fighter could have got the nod on the scorecards of the assigned judges. A moment in the fight cited by many who see Whittaker as the victor centred on the knockdown that he scored over de Ridder during the back and forth action.
Several notable fighters like Alan Jouban, former two division two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo, and former lightweight champion Islam Makhachev all saw the fight as tied up two rounds a piece heading into the fifth and final frame of the fight. UFC combatant Saidyokub Kakhramonov felt that Whittaker had done enough to win in his eyes, while former UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad gave the nod to RDR.
