Robert Whittaker vs. Reinier de Ridder: Odds and what to know ahead of UFC on ABC 9
Robert Whittaker will aim to halt another rising middleweight contender at UFC on ABC 9.
Robert Whittaker vs. Reinier de Ridder preview
Whittaker (26-8 MMA, 17-6 UFC) is coming off a first-round submission loss to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 308 last October, a setback which resulted in the former middleweight champion needing dental surgery. Prior to that, Whittaker scored back-to-back wins over Paulo Costa and Ikram Aliskerov.
Unbeaten in the octagon, De Ridder (20-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) handed the highly touted Bo Nickal his first career loss when he finished him by second-round TKO at UFC on ESPN 67 earlier this month. The former ONE middleweight and light heavyweight champion has finished 18 of his 20 professional wins.
Robert Whittaker vs. Reinier de Ridder odds
According to FanDuel, former UFC champion Whittaker is a moderate -188 favorite to beat former ONE dual-champion De Ridder, who's a +146 underdog.
How to watch Robert Whittaker vs. Reinier de Ridder at UFC on ABC 9
Where: Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi
Broadcast/streaming: ESPN, ESPN+
When: Saturday, July 26, 2025
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
36 minutes ago
- Forbes
President Donald Trump Wants A UFC Event At The White House
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 16: Dana White and President-elect Donald Trump pose for a photo ... More during the UFC 309 event at Madison Square Garden on November 16, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by) If President Donald Trump has his way, the White House grounds will host a UFC title fight in 2026 as part of the America250 celebration. "Every one of our national parks, battlefields and historic sites are going to have special events in honor of 'America250' and I even think we're going to have a UFC fight," Trump said in a speech at the Iowa State Fairgrounds on Thursday, July 3. "Does anybody watch UFC? The great [UFC CEO] Dana White? We're going to have a UFC fight. We're going to have a UFC fight — think of this — on the grounds of the White House. We have a lot of land there. "We're going to build a little — we're not, Dana is going to do it. Dana is great, one of a kind — going to be a UFC fight, championship fight, full fight, like 20,000 to 25,000 people, and we're going to do that as part of '250' also." White posted the clip on social media. The SportsBusinessJournal reached out to the UFC following Trump's speech. The UFC confirmed the promotion is, 'planning to put on an event at the White House over the next year to celebrate America's 250th anniversary.' Trump recently attended the UFC 316 fight card at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey as White's cageside guest. White and Trump have a long relationship. In 2022, White recalled the early days of his involvement of the UFC, along with the promotion's owners at the time, Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta. "This brand was so bad, venues didn't even want us. Arenas didn't want us," said White. 'These arenas were like, 'woah, we don't want this stuff in our arena.' "So we had a hard time finding venues, and Trump literally called us. He said 'Come to my place, do the event here. We'll have you at the Trump Taj Mahal'. 'He showed up for the first fight, and was their to the last fight, both times we went there. 'Everything that happened to my in my career that happened from there on out, he would pick up the phone and congratulate me.' The UFC also shared the video of Trump announcing he would like to hold a UFC event at the White House. The promotion asked fans who they would like to see headline the fight card. One fighter, who would like to compete is former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor, who wrote on social media, 'Happy 4th of July, USA. Excited with President Trump announcing a UFC fight event at the White House. I would be honoured! Count me in!' The UFC is on a break this weekend. The promotion returns to action on Saturday, July 12 for the UFC Nashville fight card at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Eddie Alvarez reflects on UFC title loss to Conor McGregor: 'I went stupid'
Eddie Alvarez knows what it's like to be on the losing end of a historic loss to a UFC star, and he sees parallels between Ilia Topuria and Conor McGregor. It's been nearly nine years since McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) defeated Alvarez (30-8 MMA, 4-3 UFC) by second-round knockout at UFC 205 in November 2016 to become the first simultaneous two-division champion in UFC history. This past weekend, Topuria (17-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) made history of his own when he knocked out Charles Oliveira to become the first among the 10 all-time multiple weight class titleholders to do it while undefeated. Advertisement Alvarez has been nothing short of impressed by Topuria's rise, and he said he sees some of what McGregor had while he was at the top of his game. "Conor in his prime was almost like Ilia, like a really scary guy," Alvarez told MMA Junkie. "When he was in the gym and he didn't care about any other stuff and he was just fixated on fighting and wanting to beat the best guys. He's a scary human being and was one of the best fighters in the world. There's no denying that. "At that point of my career I was great. And look what he's done to me. I was coming off a great win with Rafael dos Anjos, arguably one of the greatest lightweights in the world at the time." Alvarez landed just 12 total trikes in a little more than eight minutes of fight time against McGregor. He went unsuccessful on three takedown attempts, which is also the number of times he was knocked down by "The Notorious." Advertisement It was Alvarez's intention to show up that night at Madison Square Garden and thwart McGregor's bid at history. It didn't happen, and now he can be honest that everything from the preparation to the in-cage execution. Hindsight is a two-way street in a sport like MMA, though. It can lead to delusion and despair, or in the case of Alvarez, additional clarity and humility. "I probably would've boxed more in the lead up," Alvarez said. "I did a lot of boxing for the Justin Gaethje fight. I did a lot of boxing and it was one of my best performances when I did a lot of boxing with just pro boxers. I got out of the MMA gym and went down to Philly and got with pro boxers. My eyes were the best, my reactions were the best my timing, my punch volume. Everything got better. Probably would've boxed more in the preparation, and boxed less in the fight. "My eyes, my distance would've been sharper boxing-wise, but the idea was never to box. I feel like I just got caught early in the fight and I went stupid. What I did in the fight was nothing like what we did in the lead up and the preparation. Even in the fight I'm circling toward the left hand a ton, and that was like step one of day one, 'Let's go right mostly and wrestle and kick.' Instead I went left and I boxed. Sometimes you just get punched and go stupid in a fight and that's just how the cookie crumbles. It's a small margin for error when the guys are at the top of the game." Advertisement To hear more from Alvarez, check out his complete appearance on "The Bohnfire" podcast with MMA Junkie senior reporter Mike Bohn above. This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Eddie Alvarez reflects on UFC loss to Conor McGregor: 'I went stupid'
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Eddie Alvarez reflects on UFC title loss to Conor McGregor: 'I went stupid'
Eddie Alvarez knows what it's like to be on the losing end of a historic loss to a UFC star, and he sees parallels between Ilia Topuria and Conor McGregor. It's been nearly nine years since McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) defeated Alvarez (30-8 MMA, 4-3 UFC) by second-round knockout at UFC 205 in November 2016 to become the first simultaneous two-division champion in UFC history. This past weekend, Topuria (17-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) made history of his own when he knocked out Charles Oliveira to become the first among the 10 all-time multiple weight class titleholders to do it while undefeated. Alvarez has been nothing short of impressed by Topuria's rise, and he said he sees some of what McGregor had while he was at the top of his game. "Conor in his prime was almost like Ilia, like a really scary guy," Alvarez told MMA Junkie. "When he was in the gym and he didn't care about any other stuff and he was just fixated on fighting and wanting to beat the best guys. He's a scary human being and was one of the best fighters in the world. There's no denying that. "At that point of my career I was great. And look what he's done to me. I was coming off a great win with Rafael dos Anjos, arguably one of the greatest lightweights in the world at the time." Alvarez landed just 12 total trikes in a little more than eight minutes of fight time against McGregor. He went unsuccessful on three takedown attempts, which is also the number of times he was knocked down by "The Notorious." It was Alvarez's intention to show up that night at Madison Square Garden and thwart McGregor's bid at history. It didn't happen, and now he can be honest that everything from the preparation to the in-cage execution. Hindsight is a two-way street in a sport like MMA, though. It can lead to delusion and despair, or in the case of Alvarez, additional clarity and humility. "I probably would've boxed more in the lead up," Alvarez said. "I did a lot of boxing for the Justin Gaethje fight. I did a lot of boxing and it was one of my best performances when I did a lot of boxing with just pro boxers. I got out of the MMA gym and went down to Philly and got with pro boxers. My eyes were the best, my reactions were the best my timing, my punch volume. Everything got better. Probably would've boxed more in the preparation, and boxed less in the fight. "My eyes, my distance would've been sharper boxing-wise, but the idea was never to box. I feel like I just got caught early in the fight and I went stupid. What I did in the fight was nothing like what we did in the lead up and the preparation. Even in the fight I'm circling toward the left hand a ton, and that was like step one of day one, 'Let's go right mostly and wrestle and kick.' Instead I went left and I boxed. Sometimes you just get punched and go stupid in a fight and that's just how the cookie crumbles. It's a small margin for error when the guys are at the top of the game." To hear more from Alvarez, check out his complete appearance on "The Bohnfire" podcast with MMA Junkie senior reporter Mike Bohn above.
