Robert Whittaker 'wanting to send a | MMA News
Former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker (26-8) headlines the July 26 UFC on ABC struggle card in Abu Dhabi against the rising Dutchman Reinier de Ridder (20-2).
Whittaker will look to rebound from a first-round submission loss to Khamzat Chimaev. Ranked No. 5 in the division, Whittaker will likely be combating down in the rankings. De Ridder is presently ranked No. 13, but is driving a four-fight profitable streak with finishes over all three of his UFC opponents.
“I’ve been preparing for a fight, trying to stay ready for a fight. I was looking for June,” Whittaker advised Submission Radio. “But it never kind of came around. And then they came back to me and said RDR, July, Abu Dhabi… I just jumped at the opportunity and said, yes, and here we are.”
Thirteen of de Ridder’s 20 wins have been via submission. He defended a number of takedown makes an attempt from former three-time NCAA Division I national champion wrestler Bo Nickal in his final struggle. Whittaker acknowledges de Ridder’s grappling capacity but believes he’ll give you the chance to dictate how the struggle goes.
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“He’s a dangerous guy,” Whittaker stated. “If you look at a lot of guys in the Top 5, all those guys have like really good grappling and a very dangerous skillset. You have to. You have to have a very well-rounded, dangerous skillset, high-level skillset to play in these upper numbers.
“But truthfully, I believe this struggle goes to be one where if I push the tempo to where I would like it to go, if I control the struggle, control the dance, I can take the struggle to where I would like it to go,” Whittaker continued. “I can actually maneuver the struggle and push it into locations where I’m actually sturdy.”
Whittaker wants to make a statement against de Ridder and use the win as the first step to working his way back to a championship opportunity.
“I would like to set a assertion in this next struggle. I would like to actually send a message and work my manner up to the title,” Whittaker stated.
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