Reinier de Ridder reacts to the scoring of his split decision win at UFC Abu Dhabi
UFC on ABC 9: Reinier de Ridder post-fight interview
UFC on ABC 9 winner Reinier de Ridder talks to MMA Junkie and other reporters post-fight after his victory over Robert Whittaker in Abu Dhabi.
Reinier de Ridder was not expecting to get a split decision reading after going all five rounds against former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker.
De Ridder (21-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) and Whittaker (26-9 MMA, 17-7 UFC) went toe to toe for 25 minutes in the main event of UFC on ABC 9, which went down on Saturday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. It was a grueling and competitive fight, but de Ridder felt comfortable in winning three out of the five rounds they competed in. He was confident all three judges would agree with him, however, only two judges did, giving de Ridder a 48-47 score, while one judge turned in a 47-48 in favor of Whittaker.
Although many online saw the fight close, and debated over the scoring, de Ridder thought one judge clearly missed the mark.
“I was surprised one judge scored it completely wrong,” de Ridder said at the UFC on ABC 9 post-fight press conference. “I thought I had three rounds, at least. But it is what it is. I hope to finish him, and I didn’t. You never know what the judges make of it, but I’ll make sure to finish the next guy.”
With the win, de Ridder remains undefeated in the UFC. He’s now 4-0 with wins over Gerald Meerschaert, Kevin Holland, Bo Nickal, and now Whittaker. He’s clearly a top contender at 185 pounds. When asked if he expects to get the next title shot and fight the winner of the UFC 319 main event between Dricus Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev, de Ridder could only hope for that being the case, but understands there’s heavy competition.
“Hopefully, we’ll see what happens,” de Ridder said. “There’s a lot of stuff going on in the middleweight division coming up in the next few months. But yeah, I’m a top-five fighter in the world and I want to prove that I’m the best. I want to get back in the gym and work on all the stuff that happened in this fight. But first, I need some relaxation for a couple of weeks, I think.”
