UFC on ABC: Whittaker vs. de Ridder
| UFC on ABC: Whittaker vs. de Ridder | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | July 26, 2025 | |||
| Venue | Etihad Arena | |||
| City | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
UFC on ABC: Whittaker vs. de Ridder (also known as UFC on ABC 9) is an upcoming mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that will take place on July 26, 2025, at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.[1]
Background
[edit]
The event will mark the promotion's 21st visit to Abu Dhabi and first since UFC 308 in October 2024.[1]
A middleweight bout between former UFC Middleweight Champion (also The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes welterweight winner) Robert Whittaker and former ONE Middleweight and Light Heavyweight World Champion Reinier de Ridder is expected to headline this event.[2]
A featherweight bout between Movsar Evloev and promotional newcomer Aaron Pico was briefly expected to take place at UFC Fight Night: Burns vs. Morales in last May, but it did not come to fruition.[3] They are now scheduled to meet at this event.[4]
A women's strawweight bout between Amanda Ribas and Tabatha Ricci is scheduled for this event.[5] The bout was originally scheduled for UFC 318 one week before but was moved to this event for unknown reasons.[6]
Fight card
[edit]| Fight card (ABC / ESPN+) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Middleweight | Robert Whittaker | vs. | Reinier de Ridder | ||||
| Middleweight | Sharabutdin Magomedov | vs. | Marc-André Barriault | ||||
| Light Heavyweight | Nikita Krylov | vs. | Bogdan Guskov | ||||
| Flyweight | Asu Almabayev | vs. | Ramazan Temirov | ||||
| Light Heavyweight | İbo Aslan | vs. | Billy Elekana | ||||
Announced bouts
[edit]- Featherweight bout: Movsar Evloev vs. Aaron Pico[4]
- Bantamweight bout: Petr Yan vs. Marcus McGhee[8]
- Bantamweight bout: Said Nurmagomedov vs. Bryce Mitchell[9]
- Womens´s Straweight bout: Amanda Ribas vs. Tabatha Ricci[5]
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Staff (2025-03-20). "UFC announces return to Abu Dhabi for Fight Night event in July". sportsnet.ca. Retrieved 2025-03-20.
- ^ Matthew Wells (2025-03-20). "Former champ Robert Whittaker returns for UFC Abu Dhabi headliner vs. Reinier de Ridder". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2025-03-20.
- ^ Farah Hannoun and Mike Bohn (2025-04-09). "Now signed to UFC, Aaron Pico reveals just how close he came to fighting Movsar Evloev". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2025-04-09.
- ^ a b Daniel Cunningham (2025-05-23). "UFC Abu Dhabi adds Movsar Evloev – Aaron Pico". empiresportsmedia.com. Retrieved 2025-05-23.
- ^ a b Neri Fung (2025-06-04). "Change! Amanda Ribas vs. Tabatha Ricci fight moved to UFC Abu Dhabi". agfight.com. Retrieved 2025-06-04. (in Brazilian Portuguese)
- ^ Alexander Behunin (2025-05-06). "Fight news! Amanda Ribas vs. Tabatha Ricci added to UFC 318 in New Orleans". mmamania.com. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
- ^ "UFC on ABC: Whittaker vs. de Ridder". Ultimate Fighting Championship. Retrieved 2025-05-10.
- ^ Eddie Law (2025-05-29). "Petr Yan vs. Marcus McGhee Set For UFC Abu Dhabi". cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 2025-05-29.
- ^ Mike Bohn (2025-06-04). "'Most random fight of the year'… Bryce Mitchell's reported UFC return reveals major career change". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved 2025-06-04.
