One of the middleweight greats puts his UFC ranking on the line this Saturday against a hungry up-and-comer.
The pre-fight narrative: Robert Whittaker makes his 24th walk to the octagon in this promotion, and he’s the slight favourite over Reinier De Ridder. The Dutch fighter is 3-0 in his UFC career and could be on the shortlist for a title shot with a win over the former middleweight king.
Check out my UFC Fight Night predictions for the July 26 event in Abu Dhabi.
UFC Fight Night predictions
Best bet: De Ridder to win (+123)
De Ridder was already one of the best middleweights in the world coming into the UFC last year.
Before joining the company, De Ridder was dominant in ONE Championship, becoming the third-ever two-division champion in ONE, winning the middleweight and light heavyweight belts simultaneously.
His overall record of 20-2 is very impressive, with both losses coming against 14-1 heavyweight Anatoly Malykhin.
It’s understandable why De Ridder was outmatched two weight classes above his natural middleweight division.
His UFC career sees him back at 185 pounds, and he’s been dominant. He’s won three straight fights by finish, notably choking out Kevin Holland and most recently halting the momentum of Bo Nikal with a brutal barrage of strikes.
But his advantage over Whittaker isn’t on the feet. De Ridder is an amazing grappler, averaging 4.74 takedowns per 15 minutes.
If we go back to Whittaker’s most recent loss, he was outclassed on the mat by Khamzat Chimaev.
Although I don’t expect De Ridder to finish Whittaker in the first round, I believe the underdog can use his chain wrestling to win points and pull away on the scorecards.
This is a great shot for the veteran fighter to move up into the top of the rankings.
It’s not like De Ridder has poor stand-up skills, either.
Key stat: He has a better striking accuracy (60%) than Whittaker (43%) and absorbs more than one fewer sig. strike per minute.
Fight card and odds
Click link to add selection to betslip. Note: Lines have changed/market no longer available if grey.
| Fighter | Odds | Weight class | Odds | Fighter |
| Robert Whittaker (5) | -155 | Middleweight | +123 | Reinier De Ridder (13) |
| Petr Yan (3) | -420 | Bantamweight | +310 | Marcus McGhee (12) |
| Sharabutdin Magomedov | -670 | Middleweight | +480 | Marc-Andre Barriault |
| Nikita Krylov (10) | -205 | Light heavyweight | +163 | Bogdan Guskov |
| Said Nurmagomedov | +115 | Bantamweight | -143 | Bryce Mitchell |
UFC Fight Night odds as of 11:29 a.m. on 07/24/2025.
See all UFC Fight Night betting lines
UFC best bet
Guskov to win (+163): I love the value on Guskov in this matchup.
If you haven’t seen him fight, he’s always looking for a finish, which is a great asset to work with.
- Guskov is 3-1 in the UFC (17-3 overall).
- He’s currently on a three-fight win streak with all three victories coming inside the distance.
Two of those wins came by KO and the other by submission, showing off Guskov’s versatility as a fighter.
All 17 of his professional wins have come by finish. He’s going out there to win convincingly, which at least saves us from an underwhelming performance.
Krylov is a staple in the light heavyweight division, but he’s coming off a brutal KO loss to Dominick Reyes in the first round.
That bout was in April, so I have my concerns about Krylov’s recovery after just a few months off.
And Guskov isn’t the fighter to test your chin against. The 32-year-old has a knockdown in two of his last three bouts. He’s also outlanded his last two opponents by more than double their strikes.
Spencer is a true sports junkie. A graduate of the Sports Journalism program at Centennial College, he first joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2023. He is now a contributing writer. He loves finding the edge to bet on in all sports but has a deep passion for the NBA and UFC. Previous stops include Sportsnet.