Reinier de Ridder has officially entered the world of the middleweight elite after a grueling battle against Robert Whittaker at UFC Abu Dhabi.

Reinier de Ridder picked up the biggest win of his career on Saturday when he took a hard-fought split decision over former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker in the main event of UFC Fight Night from Abu Dhabi.

Both Robert Whittaker and Reinier De Ridder knew that a win over the other would put them in solid stead for a world title shot. ‘RDR’ won his first three octagon outings after leaving ONE Championship, and was clearly on the rise, while the Australian just wanted one more run at gold.

Reinier de Ridder edged out Robert Whittaker by split decision in UFC Abu Dhabi main event, but voiced frustration over a judge’s scorecard.

"We would have crossed that bridge when we got there," Robert Whittaker smirked when asked whether he had contingencies in place in case things didn’t exactly go according to plan with Israel Adesanya.

This article was originally published on www.si.com/fannation/mma as UFC bogeyman flattened Robert Whittaker’s teeth with savage choke. Robert Whittaker returns from one of the most devastating losses of his career when he steps in the Octagon this weekend at UFC Abu Dhabi.

UFC star Robert Whittaker has said that UFC boss Dana White helped pay for new teeth following his defeat to Khamzat Chimaev.

Robert Whittaker and Reinier de Ridder compete in a pivotal middleweight clash weeks before Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev fight for the middleweight title. In the aftermath of UFC 318, the mixed martial arts promotion heads to Abu Dhabi.