Robert Whittaker vs Reinier de Ridder Predictions, Picks & Odds

The UFC heads back to Abu Dhabi this Saturday, and the headline event will be a clash between Robert Whittaker and Reinier de Ridder.

Whittaker is the former UFC middleweight champion, but he'll have his work cut out for him against the "Dutch Knight" de Ridder, who was the former two-division champ at ONE Championship.

This will be a clash of styles, and UFC odds have Whittaker as a -155 favorite with RDR coming back at +130.

Here are my best UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. de Ridder predictions for July 26.

Whittaker vs de Ridder prediction and best bet

• My fight prediction: de Ridder moneyline (+130 at BET99)
  
  
• My best bet: de Ridder by submission (+350 at BET99)

Fight analysis
Reinier de Ridder has gone 20-2 in his career while winning three in a row since entering the UFC. He's fresh off a win as a +245 underdog, where he derailed the Bo Nickal hype train with a knockout in the second round.

Robert Whittaker is a UFC veteran who has long been a contender at 185 pounds. Since moving to middleweight in 2014, he's gone 14-4 with two of those defeats coming in title fights against Israel Adesanya.

Who you like in this matchup comes down to whether you prefer de Ridder's size, strength, and grappling or Whittaker's speed, cardio, and technical kickboxing.

Although the sharper and more dynamic striker, Whittaker doesn't have the power to keep de Ridder from closing distance. RDR fights with a lot of pressure, and when he gets his hands on his upcoming opponent, he will make things ugly.

Keep in mind that Whittaker is on the smaller side for the division and began his career as a welterweight. On the other hand, de Ridder was the former light heavyweight champ at ONE, and he carries his weight extremely well on his 6-foot-4 frame.

Whittaker's durability is also a question mark since he's been in plenty of wars in his career and has been finished in two of his last four fights. There's no shame in losing to Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev, but he struggled with their physicality — and that's an area that de Ridder can also expose.

Best bet analysis
RDR is a finisher with 18 of his 20 career wins coming inside the distance. He has racked up 13 wins by submission.

De Ridder won two silver medals at the European BJJ Championship, and we saw how good his ground game was when he out-grappled an NCAA Div I champion wrestler like Nickal. RDR can be a bit of an awkward striker, so expect him to implement his grappling in this matchup.

Whittaker has good takedown defense but has been taken down by high-end wrestlers like Chimaev, du Plessis, and Yoel Romero. He'll have a hard time defending against de Ridder's unorthodox takedowns, which include trips and judo throws from clinch position.

Robert Whittaker vs Reinier de Ridder odds

Method of Victory	Whittaker	de Ridder
To win outright	-155	+130
To win by KO/TKO	+170	+600
To win by decision	+285	+700
To win by submission	+1750	+350
Draw	+2500	+2500

Odds as of 7-26.

Bet on the UFC at BET99!

One of Canada's best sportsbooks for UFC betting, join BET99 and get up to $1,000 bonus bets back if your first bet doesn’t win when using our BET99 promo code COVERSBONUS!

Sign Up Now at 

^{*Not available in Ontario}

Robert Whittaker vs Reinier de Ridder tale of the tape

Pages related to this topic