Robert Whittaker’s next fight will be against Reiner de Ridder in the main event of UFC On ABC 9 in Abu Dhabi on July 26th, and the former middleweight champion has revealed how it came about and what he thinks of the match-up.
“I told my manager, ‘Speak to them. I’m looking for late June, early July. International Fight Week looks good, let’s get something,’” Whittaker said on his YouTube channel. “And I was also kind of mentioning [Sean] Strickland at the time. We’re both up there, it makes sense, we’ve never fought, let’s get it done.
“They came back to me and said, ‘Strickland is just getting back into training. We can try and get that fight to happen but we don’t know when it’s going to happen, but [Roman] Dolidze … is ready and willing.’ I was like, done. Sign me up. Let’s go. …
“Then, literally four days ago, they’re like, ‘RDR? De Ridder, main event, Abu Dhabi, July 28.’ I was like, what happened to the other one? [Laughs]. I don’t know what happened to anything.”
As for the fight itself, Whittaker says that while de Ridder isn’t yet a top 10 middleweight, his accomplishments show that he is a worthy opponent.
“He’s not in the top 10 yet but he just beat Bo Nickal. He’s a good hard fight, he had two titles in ONE, he’s a hard fight. I’m sure he’ll be in the top 10 before long. He’s a top 10 fighter, competitor at least. That’s a hard fight, let’s do it. July is a good time, so I just said yes, straight away. …
“Everything kind of worked out. We’re 11 weeks from Abu Dhabi, main event, five rounds. It’s always fun. I love my face on a poster, the kids love it. I look forward to getting work done.”
Whittaker went on to reveal that he’s got a rough idea of when he might like to retire, and so he’s now setting his sights on accomplishing everything he wants before that time comes.
“I want to get back in there and I want to get back in that winning column. I’ve got some things — I don’t want to fight forever. I’ve got a couple years left in my career and I want that fairytale ending. Especially after seeing Volk, and now JDM get up, I want that fairytale ending. That’s where — I want to work my way up to the title, win the belt, and sail off into the sunset. That’s the dream I’m pushing and fighting for right now.”
