Reinier de Ridder could find himself as No. 1 contender in less than one year with the UFC.
De Ridder (20-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) draws former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker (26-8 MMA, 17-6 UFC) in the UFC on ABC 9 main event July 26 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
Whittaker required dental surgery after suffering a first-round submission loss to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 308 last October. De Ridder isn’t ready to write off Whittaker after his quick loss to Chimaev.
“The Ikram (Aliskerov) fight is not that long ago, and he looked amazing in that one,” De Ridder told MMA Junkie. “The Khamzat fight was a bit unfortunate, I think, with the injury he came into it with. But he’s still there, very explosive, very dangerous dude. So I’m going to get into camp as soon as possible and get ready.”
 A submission specialist, De Ridder showed off his hands when he finished formerly unbeaten Bo Nickal by TKO at UFC on ESPN 67 earlier this month. Despite the new wrinkles in his game, the former ONE dual-champion plans on choking out Whittaker.
“It’s an interesting one to prepare for because there’s not a lot of guys with his style and his standup,” De Ridder said of Whittaker. “Very explosive, likes to leap in, hands low, good punches, good kicks. So it’s not an easy one to prepare for in any way, shape, or form. We’ll see where it goes. You’ll see me do the same thing I always do: Put the pressure, get close, try to hit him with some good shots, take him down, choke him out. That’s the plan.”
If De Ridder can get another finish over Whittaker, he hopes to position himself in title contention and face the winner of the title fight between middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev in the UFC 319 headliner on Aug. 16.
“It’s crazy, so cool to get another shot like this,” De Ridder said of fighting Whittaker. “If I just keep making good on all these opportunities, I think I have a good chance to fight for the title in a little while here.”
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