UFC, Reinier de Ridder and ABC 9
Digest more
UFC on ABC 9 (ABC, ESPN, ESPN+) took place Saturday, and MMA Junkie provided live round-by-round coverage and official result. UFC on ABC 9 took place at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. In the headliner, former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker (26-9 MMA, 17-7 UFC) took on former ONE champion Reinier de Ridder (21-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC).
The MMA community reacted to Reinier de Ridder's split decision over Robert Whittaker at UFC Abu Dhabi – with some questioning the result.
The full UFC on ABC 9 weigh-in results include: MAIN CARD (ABC, ESPN+, 3 p.m. ET) Shara Magomedov (186) vs. Marc-Andre Barriault (185) Asu Almabayev (126) vs. Jose Ochoa (125.5) Bryce Mitchell (136) vs. Said Nurmagomedov (136) Ibo Aslan (204) vs. Billy Elekana (204.5)
The UFC handed out four bonuses after Saturday's card in Abu Dhabi, including a record-breaking performance. After UFC on ABC 9, four fighters picked up an extra $50,000 for their performances at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Check out the winners below.
The win was the fifth in six UFC fights for Magomedov, who’d dropped a decision to Michael Page in February. Barriault, meanwhile, has lost nine of 15 with the company after arriving in 2019, having gone 11-1 in smaller promotions.
On the UFC on ABC 9 prelims, Nguyen (10-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) dropped Yahya (12-5 MMA, 0-2 UFC) a record-breaking six times. The fight was stopped between Round 2 and Round 3 due to Yahya's grotesquely swollen eye. The fight took place at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
Light heavyweight finishers Nikita Krylov and Bogdan Guskov open up the UFC Abu Dhabi main card. Will this one make it out of Round 1?
In a 3-round middleweight bout on the main card, Shara Magomedov and Marc-Andre Barriault meet Saturday at UFC on ABC 9 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
In anticipation of the event headlined by Robert Whittaker vs. Reinier de Ridder, Hannoun will be joined by MMA Junkie senior reporter Mike Bohn on Friday at 2 p.m. ET to preview the event from top to bottom – and to answer your questions.