Morning Report | Robert Whittaker explains how Reinier de Ridder fight came together so quickly

Robert Whittaker is ready to step back into the cage, and it all happened very quickly.

Over the weekend, the UFC announced that Whittaker will be making his return to the octagon this summer when he takes on former ONE two-division champion Reinier de Ridder in the main event of UFC Abu Dhabi. It’s Whittaker’s first fight back since suffering a gruesome mouth injury against Khamzat Chimaev and it’s a bit of a surprising one, given the multiple opponents Whittaker was linked to beforehand. But Whittaker explained that the fight sort of fell together as a product of good timing.

“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 explained 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.”

Of course, that didn’t stop Whittaker from accepting. Earlier this month, de Ridder became the first man to defeat Bo Nickal, stopping him in the co-main event of UFC Des Moines. Though that win didn’t elevate “RDR” in the rankings, it did boost de Ridder’s profile significantly, and made this an easy “yes” for Whittaker.

“All I know is the date fit,” Whittaker said. “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.”

For Whittaker, de Ridder presents a opportunity to rebound from his brutal loss to Chimaev and re-insert himself as a going concern at 185 pounds. And at 34 years old, “The Reaper” knows he doesn’t have much time left to accomplish the things he wants to do in MMA.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Whittaker said. “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.”

UFC Abu Dhabi takes place on July 26 at Etihad Arena.

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Promo.

Julianna Peña.

Daniel Cormier on Islam Makhachev.

Michael Bisping on UFC 315.

Aljamain Sterling talking about UFC 315.

Jean Silva chokes out a fan.

Stay safe out there.

Valentina Shevchenko flexing.

Winner.

If Ankalaev somehow did actually hack Alex Pereira, that would be kinda gas.

Grant Dawson gets it.

Matchmaker.

I couldn’t be more pumped for the Whittaker-RDR fight. RDR has the chance to pull a DDP and lock in a title shot, while Whittaker has a chance to rebound and get back in the mix. Perfect matchmaking.

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