Robert Whitaker and Rainer de Ridar were not without issues with the middleweight who hit the scale early on Friday morning in Abu Dhabi.
The main event became official after De Ridder was the first fighter to weigh against the former two division champions of One, who came in for 186 pounds. Whitaker wasn’t that late as he weighed 185.5 pounds.
The fight serves as De Ridder’s biggest test after he began his UFC career with three consecutive wins, including a furious knockout of highly promoted prospect Bo Nickal on his recent outing. He has also won over Gerald Measschart and Kevin Holland since joining the UFC for free agency.
As for Whittaker, the former UFC middleweight champion is considering returning to his victory column after suffering a terrible loss of obedience to Khamzat Chimaev, who was forced to undergo oral surgery due to several teeth broken. Overall, Whäutelkar was 2-2 in the last four fights, winning alongside Ikram Alicekarov and Paulo Costa.
In the co-main event, former UFC bantamweight champion Petruyan had no issues with his weighing after hitting the scale at 135.5 pounds. His opponent, Marcus McGee, who is challenging the competition for a fight in Abu Dhabi, was 138 pounds in the bantamweight fight.
Bryce Mitchell also hit the mark in his first advancement in the bantamweight division after spending the rest of his UFC career competing in featherweight division. Mitchell weighs 136 pounds and his opponent said Nurmagomedov was on the same 136 pounds, setting the stage for the qualifying round featured on Saturday.
Here is the complete measurement result for UFC Abu Dhabi
Main Card
Main Event: Robert Whittaker (185.5) vs. Reinier de Ridder (186)
Petr Yan (135.5) vs. Marcus McGhee (136)
Shara Magomedov (186) Vs. Marc-Andre Barrault (185)
Asu Almabayev (126) vs. Jose Ochoa (125.5)
Nikita Krylov (205) vs. Bogdan Guskov (205)
spare
Bryce Mitchell (136) vs. Said Nurmagomedov (136)
Muslim Sarikov (170.5) vs Carlos Rial (170)
Davey Grant (136) vs. Da’mon Blackshear (136)
Amandari Bas (116) vs. Tabasarich (115)
Ibo Aslan (204) vs. Billy Elekana (5/204)
Mohammad Yahya (146) vs. Steven Nguyen (145.5)
Martin Buday (266) vs. Marcus Buchecha (254)