De Ridder's Abu Dhabi victory was as close as it gets. Roughly half of all fans and media members scored it for Whittaker. Regardless, the result is in, and 'RDR' is a new challenger in the 185-pound division. This means accepting trash talk from his contemporaries.

Reinier de Ridder has officially entered the world of the middleweight elite after a grueling battle against Robert Whittaker at UFC Abu Dhabi.

In the UFC on ABC 9 main event Saturday, de Ridder (21-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) defeated former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker (26-9 MMA, 17-7 UFC) over five rounds. The decision was a split set of 48-47 scorecards. The event took place at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.