UFC on ABC: Whittaker vs. de Ridder
| UFC on ABC: Whittaker vs. de Ridder | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for 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 scheduled for this event.[3] They were briefly expected to meet at UFC Fight Night: Burns vs. Morales in May, but it did not come to fruition.[4] In turn, under two weeks prior to this event, Evloev had to withdraw due to an injury and it is unclear if a replacement will be found or not for Pico.[5]
A women's strawweight bout between Amanda Ribas and Tabatha Ricci is scheduled for this event.[6] The bout was originally scheduled for UFC 318 one week before but was moved to this event for unknown reasons.[7]
Asu Almabayev and Ramazan Temirov were expected to face each other in a flyweight bout on the preliminary card.[8] However, Temirov pulled out due to failing a drug test in early July and was replaced by Jose Ochoa.[9]
Fight card
[edit]| Main card (ABC / ESPN+) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Middleweight | Robert Whittaker | vs. | Reinier de Ridder | ||||
| Bantamweight | Petr Yan | vs. | Marcus McGhee | ||||
| Bantamweight | Bryce Mitchell | vs. | Said Nurmagomedov | ||||
| Middleweight | Sharabutdin Magomedov | vs. | Marc-André Barriault | ||||
| Preliminary card (ESPN / ESPN+) | |||||||
| Light Heavyweight | Nikita Krylov | vs. | Bogdan Guskov | ||||
| Women's Straweight | Amanda Ribas | vs. | Tabatha Ricci | ||||
| Welterweight | Muslim Salikhov | vs. | Carlos Leal Miranda | ||||
| Light Heavyweight | İbo Aslan | vs. | Billy Elekana | ||||
| Heavyweight | Martin Buday | vs. | Marcus Buchecha | ||||
| Featherweight | Mohammad Yahya | vs. | Steven Nguyen | ||||
| Bantamweight | Davey Grant | vs. | Da'Mon Blackshear | ||||
Announced bouts
[edit]- Flyweight bout: Asu Almabayev vs. Jose Ochoa[9]
- Featherweight bout: Aaron Pico vs. TBA[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.
- ^ Staff (2025-06-18). "Aaron Pico gets unbeaten Movsar Evloev for UFC debut in Abu Dhabi". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2025-06-18.
- ^ 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 Jamie Theodosi (2025-07-14). "UFC Abu Dhabi takes huge hit as co-main event number one contender fight is cancelled". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved 2025-07-14.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Jay Pettry (2025-05-08). "UFC Abu Dhabi adds Asu Almabayev vs. Ramazonbek Temirov at flyweight". sherdog.com. Retrieved 2025-05-08.
- ^ a b Alexander Behunin (2025-07-08). "Festering wound triggers failed drug test, bounces top Flyweight prospect from UFC Abu Dhabi - 'It was my mistake'". mmamania.com. Retrieved 2025-07-08.
- ^ "UFC on ABC: Whittaker vs. de Ridder". Ultimate Fighting Championship. Retrieved 2025-05-10.
