The UFC returned to what some may feel is their home away from their Las Vegas home, the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, for a night of action with UFC Abu Dhabi: Robert Whittaker vs. Reinier de Ridder.
It’s the 21st time that the UFC touched down in the Etihad Arena, and it’s the promotion’s first visit to the venue since Ilia Topuria’s knockout of Max Holloway at UFC 308 late last year.
The main event featured an interesting and competitive bout featuring the former middleweight champion, fan-favorite Robert Whittaker, and a man rising through the middleweight ranks quickly in RdR, the former two-division champion in ONE Championship.
Last year, Whittaker had scored victories over Paulo Costa and Ikram Aliskerov, but he was submitted by upcoming title challenger Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 308 — a bout in which Whittaker suffered jaw injuries.
De Ridder, meanwhile, came into the bout 3-0 in the UFC, scoring submission wins over Gerald Meerschaert at UFC Vegas 100, Kevin Holland at UFC 311, and Bo Nickal at UFC Des Moines.
The co-main event also saw a former champion in action, as one-time bantamweight champion Petr Yan took on the rising Marcus McGhee. Yan was looking to lock up a third straight victory since losing to current 135-pound champion Merab Dvalishvili, while McGhee was looking to improve to 11-1 in his professional MMA career and 5-0 in the Octagon.
The main card also featured Shara “Bullet” Magomedov in action against Marc-Andre Barriault, a flyweight battle between Asu Almabayev and Jose Ochoa, and a light heavyweight contest featuring Nikita Krylov and Bogdan Guskov.
Who delivered in Abu Dhabi? Who didn’t? Let’s find out with the hits and misses of UFC Abu Dhabi: Robert Whittaker vs. Reinier de Ridder!
Hit – Night Of The Underdogs
Okay, I don’t know if many people will agree with me in calling this a hit considering how many people are complaining that they lost money on this card. But, at the very least, I think it’s noteworthy.
Of the 12 fights that took place at UFC Abu Dhabi, and going off the odds from the night before, six of them resulted in the underdog coming out on top.
We saw Billy Elekna defeat Ibo Aslan in the first upset, followed by Tabatha Ricci’s finish of Amanda Ribas, Davey Grant besting Da’Mon Blackshear, and Muslim Salikhov’s quick knockout of Carlos Leal.
The main card saw two upsets, one at the start with Bogdan Guskov finishing Nikita Krylov, and one at the end with Reinier de Ridder’s victory over Robert Whittaker.
Definitely a night that will be remembered by bettors — one way or the other.
Hit – Steven Nguyen’s Record Six Knockdowns
The reason this came about, let alone more about Steven Nguyen’s victory, came under dubious circumstances. However, credit has to be given where its due.
Nguyen put on a monstrous showing during the prelims of UFC Abu Dhabi. His striking was on full display, overwhelming opponent Mohammad Yahya with flurries and combinations throughout the fight’s 10 minutes.
Nguyen dropped Yahya six times during the fight for a UFC record. And by the time the 10 minutes were up, Yahya’s face was a mess, complete with hematoma (though Yahya supposedly had no facial injuries after his hospitalization).
This was only Nguyen’s second UFC appearance since his 2023 win on Dana White’s Contender Series, but we’ve seen him earn a Fight of the Night bonus in a loss and now this — which earned him a performance bonus. Hopefully it’s not as long before we see his next fight.
Miss – Jason Herzog Being A Reckless Referee
Jason Herzog is one of the more respectable referees of this fight game. That said, he must have been REALLY OFF his game in this fight.
Most of the knockdowns of Mohammad Yahya happened during the first round of the fight with Steven Nguyen. At some point, when someone is taking so much damage and getting knocked down so much, isn’t that the time to step in and wave the fight off? There weren’t just discussions of 10-8 scorecards with this round…10-7 was also being discussed.
It’s one thing if a round is considered a 10-8 or worse because of a dominating performance. It’s another when we’re talking about fighter safety getting compromised. If that happens, a referee is not doing his proper job. And on that note, Jason Herzog was not doing his proper job.
It got so bad to the point people are saying the fight was rigged, with X users claiming it was just to get the over on the 1.5 rounds. Now that’s most likely just X users being X users in that MMA/betting cesspool. But whether it’s true or not, one thing is for certain — I say it again — Jason Herzog failed at his job. It doesn’t matter if Yahya came out with no long-term damage; he and Nguyen were Herzog’s responsibility, and Herzog didn’t handle it.
And it’s just another example of how much a shame it is that referees, judges, etc. — anyone involved in the commission — are not held to the same responsibility and spotlight of their decisions like officials in other sports.
Miss – Ibo Aslan And Billy Elekana…What was That?
Just…what the heck was that?
Ibo Aslan and Billy Elekana put on a performance in the Octagon that got them a standing boo-vation in Abu Dhabi.
There are plenty of words in the English language you can use to describe this fight: cautious, uneventful, boring, inactive, snoozefest. No one seemed to land anything major of significance, looking more like a big sparring match held at an MMA gym.
Elekana only won because he brought the forward pressure (and he did bust Aslan up a bit with a left hand). But the crème da la crème came when Aslan looked shocked that he lost.
Here’s a piece of advice: If you want to actually guarantee yourself a win, whether it not it comes by the judges, actually fight.
Hit – Muslim Salikhov Produces Another Highlight First-Round KO
I think it’s safe to say Muslim Salikhov is back on the right track following his win over Carlos Leal during the UFC Abu Dhabi prelims.
It was in the fight’s first minute, as the two of them were starting to get a rhythm and feel each other out. Salikhov had his back to the fence, but he timed a right hand so perfectly, it landed with timing, power and precision, dropping the PFL and LFA veteran with a one-hitter quitter.
And this comes about eight months after Salikhov’s last outing, where he dropped Kenan Song out cold with a spinning wheel kick. After losing three of four between July 2022 and February 2024, this hopefully starts another winning streak for the “King of Kung Fu.”
Hit – Watch Out For Bogdan Guskov
Bogdan Guskov doesn’t have the UFC resume that shouts “Title shot!” yet, but keep your eye on him.
Opponent Nikita Krylov attempted to use his pressure and seemed to get the better of Guskov early on. But Guskov fought fire with fire, and he’d land a powerful overhand right that introduced Krylov to the canvas, where Guskov would pound away for a finish.
Guskov was defeated by Volkan Oezdemir in his UFC debut a couple of years ago, but now he’s on a four-fight win streak and will find himself either at the bottom of the top 10 in the contenders’ list or just outside of the top 10. Perhaps his next fight can continue to test him with someone like another former title challenger in Dominick Reyes or perhaps the winner of the upcoming Aleksandar Rakic vs. Azamat Murzakanov bout.
Hit – Shara Bullet Produces Highly Entertaining Brawl With Marc-Andre Barriault
“Shara Bullet” put on quite the showing in spite of suffering a broken nose.
It wasn’t an easy fight; in fact, it was quite the bloody war. But Shara Magomedov came out on top in his battle with Marc-Andre Barriault.
Magomedov controlled the early action with sharp footwork and low kicks, keeping Barriault at bay. In the second, Barriault turned the tide with the huge right hand that broke Magomedov’s nose, followed by a takedown and heavy clinched strikes. Magomedov would respond with a strong knee, however, and he surged back in the final round with a series of strikes, ending the bout with a strong takedown and ground-and-pound.
It was a much-needed rebound performance for “Shara Bullet” following his loss to Michael “Venom” Page.
Hit – Petr Yan In Line For Merab Dvalishvili vs. Cory Sandhagen Winner?
Is Petr Yan ready for the opportunity to reclaim the bantamweight championship? If his UFC Abu Dhabi co-main event performance against Marcus McGhee were to say something, it would indicate he is.
Yan showcased his striking early with low kicks and combinations, rocking McGhee with a left hook late in the first round. McGhee tried to rally in the second, but Yan busted him open with a right hand, overwhelming him with a high volume of strikes. Yan continued to pressure in the third round and scored the decision.
Yan has a history with both participants in the upcoming bantamweight title fight at UFC 320 — he defeated Sandhagen in an interim title fight at UFC 267 but loss to Dvalishvili in March 2023 — the latter of which marked Yan’s third straight loss and fourth loss in the five fights since dropping the title to Aljamain Sterling.
But now, he’s won three straight with victories over Song Yadong, Deiveson Figueiredo, and McGhee, and perhaps this ensures Yan can watch the Dvalishvili vs. Sandhagen title fight that much more closely.
Miss – Reinier De Ridder Beats Robert Whittaker…But Did He Really Win?
If I was able to go half-sies on this one and give both a hit and a miss, I would. But that kind of ruins the point of this written piece now, doesn’t it?
I’ll start by giving Reinier De Ridder his props, he got what should have been a clear, but close and competitive, victory over five rounds against the former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker. He overcame adversity, controlled the action, did more of the work in the fifth round. The judges got the decision correct.
Anyone who has followed Whittaker’s time in the UFC since he’s moved up to 185 knows that two people have beaten him and became middleweight champion — Israel Adesanya (against Whittaker himself) and Dricus Du Plessis. Khamzat Chimaev joins that list if he beats DDP at UFC 319 in three weeks’ time.
That said, it wasn’t the strongest performance. Whittaker, in fact, started strong first, using his striking to pressure RDR and bust him open despite clinch and takedown attempts. RDR did hurt Whittaker in the second with a knee, however, completely controlling Whittaker.
Whittaker, however, did drop the former ONE champion with an overhand right, nearly finishing him before RDR managed to fight his way back into it. Both fighters fatigued in the later rounds, but de Ridder’s grappling did its magic and gave him the decision win.
RDR did win the fight, as Whittaker did little to answer for his grappling in the fifth. This fight, however, also reminds me why I hate the 10-point must system in MMA and much prefer the PRIDE/Global ruleset (emphasis on its scoring system).
Is a win over Whittaker a great sign for RDR? Absolutely. But I think he might be troubled now if he got into a title fight with the DDP-Chimaev winner. His best-case scenario might be a Chimaev win and a rematch between those two, giving him the time to have one more fight — perhaps against someone like another former champion in Sean Strickland or Adesanya — to develop a little more before challenging for the gold.
