Robert Whittaker is sharing his thoughts on a razor thin split decision loss to Reinier de Ridder in Abu Dhabi that has put him on a two fight skid for the first time since 2014.
Whittaker bounced back from those losses (to Court McGee and Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson) by going on a 9 fight winning streak, winning the title in 2017 and holding it until 2019 when Israel Adesanya took it from him. It’s been an up-and-down path since then for him — he’s 6-4 in that time including Saturday’s loss to de Ridder
— but Whittaker sounds more determined than ever to keep fighting and end his career on a high note.
“I’m disappointed, but I’m not disheartened,” a smiling Whittaker said in an Instagram video. “You know, there are a lot of things I liked about the fight. There are a lot of things I didn’t. But I’m gonna take it all, head back to the gym, sit with the team, pick it apart, and then get back on the horse. That’s that’s all you can do.”
Robert Whittaker reflects on his loss to Reinier de Ridder — staying humble in defeat
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) July 29, 2025
@robwhittakermma pic.twitter.com/I5qH2Z8op3
“Congratulations to de Ridder. He had a particular game plan. He executed it well. It got him the win. It is what it is sometimes. But yeah, I’m gonna learn from this experience and move forward.”
Whittaker is just 34 years old but has a lot of mileage after a 26-9 career (17-7 UFC). He’s talked about retirement down the road, but isn’t letting this competitive fight that could have gone either way rush him into it.
“This isn’t the end of Robert Whittaker,” he said at the end of his video. “This is just another learning curve, another speed bump.”
“I’m gonna spend some time with my family now, just rest, recover a little bit, and then hopefully get back on an Australian card. It’s been a while and I’m honestly, I’m longing for it. It’s been a while since I fought in Australia and I’d love to fight here again. It’s time.”
The UFC’s only scheduled Australia show at the moment is a Fight Night in Perth on September 28th that could honestly use some Bobby Knux star power. Can Whittaker shake off the damage from a hard fought 5 rounder and compete again in 8 weeks? We’d expect it’s more likely that he returns in February, which is when the UFC has headed down under for the past three years.
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