Robert Whitaker won’t give up.
Even if he decided that the time he was going to chase the championship at any point in recent years was over, few people blamed the “Grim Reaper.” When he lost his rematch with Israel Adesanya. When he was thoroughly destroyed by Doricus du Plessis. When he reconstructed his teeth by Kamza Chimaev.
After all, the 34-year-old refused to declare that he was showing up to work simply for his love for the game or picking up his pay. Whitaker believes he will run him another title, despite having spent almost six years since he wore gold around his waist. Can you blame him?
When it appears Whitaker should be counted, he drags himself off the canvas, knocks off his hopeful companion, and returns to the gym to begin the miserable process again. On Saturday, at the main event at UFC Abu Dhabi, he is doing an unthankful job of stopping Stree King Leniedridder. In short, Whitaker is fighting for survival.
Don’t expect De Ridar, a potential horse in the division, to show mercy to him.
Also on Saturday, former bantamweight champion Petr Yang will face Marcus McGee in the co-main event, while Shara Brett appears to bounce from his first defeat when he challenges veteran middleweight Mark Andre Barrier. card.
what: UFC Abu Dhabi
where: Etihad Alina in Abu Dhabi
when: Saturday, July 26th. The seven-inning fight spare cards begin at 12pm ET on ESPN and ESPN+, followed by five main cards at 3pm on ABC and ESPN+.
(The numbers in parentheses indicate that they are standing MMA is fighting against global rankings))
Robert Whitaker (7) vs. Reinier de Ridder (10)
It’s a shame to say that, I think this is the end of Robert Whitaker’s line as far as title conflicts are concerned.
Reiner de Ridder has the obvious advantage of being owned by past Whittaker Foils. He’s a big Motherf*cker. This is compared to former welterweight Whittaker, but RDR is particularly tough and difficult to deal with, and he is extremely strong in the grappling division. Whittaker has literally made a career outmart and strike large opponents, but as he gets closer to the Twilight of his career, it gets even more difficult.
Certainly, as the battle progresses to the championship round, the tide is in the favor of Whittaker. Despite being a two-division champion, De Ridder fought past the third round of his career, and as Whittaker pushed the pace up, “The Dutch Knight” was able to find himself in an unpleasant territory.
Make your choice: Will Whittaker overtake De Ridder, make decisions, or get a finish in the later rounds? Or is De Ridder Rush Whittaker in a hurry to finish in the early rounds?
De Ridder continues his unexpected march in the title fight.
choose: Knight
Petr Yan (5) vs. Marcus McGhee
Petr Yang is somehow more experienced, but rather younger than Marcus McGee. That’s strange. Also, one of the reasons why Yang is so popular here.
Don’t take anything from McGee. How he won this place. The 35-year-old dadged MMA as an amateur in 2012, but did not become a professional until 2020. It was carried over to the UFC, where he quickly separated himself from the middle of the pack, then introduced top 20 bantamweight Jonathan Martinez. McGee is sometimes wild, but his strength and athleticism can make up for in-cage errors (so far).
Unfortunately for McGee, the margin of mistakes he makes when fighting Yang becomes more and more slimmer as the battle progresses. Yang can be hard to deal with offensive McGee in round one, but after the first five minutes, expect him to be locked up like usual and transformed into a fully automatic strike machine that we all know and love. There’s still much I don’t know about McGee’s ceiling as a competitor, and Yang is a big step away from Martinez, a galaxy step up from others McGee fought.
So, find out what McGee’s limits are here. Because if he defeats Yang, he will fight away from the challenge for the bantamweight title. This is a scenario where you predict that Yang will remain purely hypothetical as he is on top after an interesting three rounds.
choose: Yang
Shara Magomedov vs. Marc and-Adre Barial
Shara’s bullet, this is your time for sparkle.
As for my fellow Canadian Mark Andre Barrier, the assumption here is that Magomedov styles his style early before finishing in the first or second round. We’ve seen an inconsistent outing from Magomedov before, but the barrier’s high offensive and low defensive approach makes him the perfect highlight reel feed for Magomedov.
In his recent fight, I haven’t seen enough from the barrier to convince me that he could slow down the bullet. He’s as inconsistent as Magomedov and doesn’t focus on getting out of the middle of the middleweight pack. Even if Magomedov is not the future world champion, his impressive one places him a notch on the barrier. If the barrier somehow could wrestled the path to victory, it would be the first time I’ve seen it.
Bullets from knockouts in the first round.
choose: Magomedov
Asu Almabayev (13) vs. Jose Ochoa
OK, ASU Almabayev, let’s see how much he learned from Manel Kape from that loss.
Almabayev looked like a sleeper candidate before coming across Kape last March. When it comes to mixing martial arts, Almabaev is better than anyone in the 125-pound division, but his temper was tested by the offensive Kape. Non-stop pressure has proven to be a weakness for him, something Joseochoa can bring to the Cage on Saturday.
Certainly, Ochoa is a reckless striker willing to eat it to give it, but he also brings about the relentless attacks and unorthodox moves that Almabaev struggled with on his latest outing. If Almabayev is thrown out of his game again, will he be able to change the tact on his terms and meet Ochoa, or will he be overwhelmed?
I like both of these guys being the mainstays in the UFC flyweight division for years, but since someone has to get off tonight I have Ochoa wins and take Almabaev’s place in the rankings.
choose: ochoa
Nikita Krylov (13) vs. Bogdan Guskov (15)
The real question of the main card opener is whether it falls under the curse of “guaranteed finish”.
You know what it will be. Matchmakers bring together two fighters who historically disliked going to judges, somehow ending in a 15-minute throw. This has all the excitement trap games. Nikita Krylov finishes 28 on his name, and Bogdan Guskov only goes to the judges once in 20 professional matches.
Get optimistic here, choose someone and get a big KO, Guskov, who is a fast rising in this case. Krylov is very tough, but he has hit, and Gaskov doesn’t need too many openings to find the end of the fight. Krylov definitely works to take this fight to the ground in round 1, so if he succeeds in defeating Guskov, he will take a quick photo of how this fight unfolds.
I believe Guskov keeps doing this and he will put his hand in the second round. There he lands a hayman who places Krylov flat on his back.
choose: Gaskov
spare
Bryce Mitchell def. Nurmagomedov said
Carlos Leal Def. Sarikov, a Muslim
Da’mon Blackshear def. Davy Grant
Amanda Ribas (10, WFLW 13) def. Tabatha ricci (12)
Ibo Aslan def. Billy Erekana
Steven Nguyen def. Mohammad Yahiya
Martin Buday def. Marcus Buffet Cha