Reinier de Ridder will turn his attention to a middleweight title shot next, after beating former champion Robert Whittaker in the main event of UFC Abu Dhabi.

UFC middleweight Reinier de Ridder solidified himself as a legitimate title contender in defeating Robert Whittaker by split decision at UFC Fight Night in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.

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.

Robert Whittaker thinks he "ticked all the boxes" to get his hand raised vs. Reinier de Ridder at UFC Abu Dhabi.