Biggest Winners, Loser From UFC Abu Dhabi

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

UFC Abu Dhabi went down yesterday (Sat., July 26, 2025) inside Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, which saw Reinier de Ridder defeat Robert Whittaker via split-decision. In the co-main event, Petr Yan defeated Marcus McGhee via unanimous decision in a bantamweight affair (recap).

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Biggest Winner: Reinier de Ridder

After stopping the Bo Nickal hype train dead in its track in his previous outing, de Ridder showed that not only can he take out the up-and-comers, but he can take out former world champions as well, followed

up with yet another impressive and gutsy performance against “The Reaper.” While things looked a bit dicey in the beginning, “RDR” managed to turn things around for himself to pull away in the final rounds to convince the judges he deserved the win. That is now five straight wins for the former One Championship double champion, including going 4-0 inside the Octagon. A spot in the Top 5 should be next for “RDR,” though he will likely need at least one more win before he gets a title shot. Nevertheless, he has cemented himself as a legit threat to the throne, and the rest of the top contenders need to be on alert.

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Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Runner Up: Petr Yan

Eyebrows were raised when Yan —the No. 3 ranked guy in the division — was booked to face McGhee, the No. 12 ranked fighter with only four UFC fights under his belt. Nevertheless, “No Mercy” did what he had to do and took it to “The Maniac” for 15 minutes to lock down the unanimous decision win. With the victory, Yan improves his win streak to three in a row and makes a strong case for a shot at the 135-pound title.

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Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Biggest Loser (s): Amanda Ribas and Mohammad Yahya

There were plenty of big losers last night, but Ribas and Yahya get the nod here. Ribas suffered her third straight defeat after suffering a technical knockout (TKO) defeat at the hands of Tabatha Ricci in the second round. Overall, Ribas is now 1-4 in her last five fights, a drastic downfall after kicking off her UFC career with four straight wins. As for Yaya, he was dominated by Steven Nguyen, who knocked him down six times in the span of two rounds before forcing a doctor’s stoppage as a result of a busted up right eye. For Yaya, that is now three straight loss to kick off his UFC career, which could lead to the end of his run inside the Octagon.

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For complete UFC Abu Dhabi results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.

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