Robert Whittaker and Reinier de Ridder were both on point without any problems with the middleweights hitting the scale early Friday morning in Abu Dhabi.
The main event was made official after de Ridder was the first fighter to weigh in with the former two-division champion from ONE coming in at 186 pounds. Whittaker wasn’t too far behind as he weighed 185.5 pounds.
On point for his biggest fight!
Reinier de Ridder weighs in at 186lbs at #UFCAbuDhabi
[ 3pmET on ABC | @VisitAbuDhabi | @InAbuDhabi | #InAbuDhabi ] pic.twitter.com/qjqEy1UnBL— UFC (@ufc) July 25, 2025
Bobby Knuckles is ready to throw down @RobWhittakerMMA weighs in at 185.5lbs for #UFCAbuDhabi
[ SAT 3pmET on ABC | @VisitAbuDhabi | @InAbuDhabi | #InAbuDhabi ] pic.twitter.com/JAgWZ5NDGJ— UFC (@ufc) July 25, 2025
The fight serves as de Ridder’s biggest test to date after he’s started his UFC career with three straight wins including a blistering knockout over highly touted prospect Bo Nickal in his most recent outing. He also holds wins over Gerald Meerschaert and Kevin Holland since joining the UFC in free agency.
As for Whittaker, the former UFC middleweight champion is looking to return to the win column after he suffered a gruesome submission loss to Khamzat Chimaev that forced him to have oral surgery due to several broken teeth. Overall, Whittaker has gone 2-2 in his past four fights with wins over Ikram Aliskerov and Paulo Costa along the way.
In the co-main event, former UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan had no problems with his weigh in after hitting the scale at 135.5 pounds. His opponent Marcus McGhee, who is getting a decided step up in competition for the fight in Abu Dhabi, was at 138 pounds for the non-title bantamweight fight.
Bryce Mitchell also hit the mark in his first foray at bantamweight after spending the rest of his UFC career competing at featherweight. Mitchell weighed 136 pounds with opponent Said Nurmagomedov coming in at the identical 136 pounds, setting the stage for the featured prelim on Saturday.
Ready to make a statement! ☠️@Shara_Bullet77 weighs in at 186lbs for #UFCAbuDhabi ️
[ 3pmET on ABC | @VisitAbuDhabi | @InAbuDhabi | #InAbuDhabi ] pic.twitter.com/OjuyhiWj32— UFC (@ufc) July 25, 2025
Here are the full weigh-in results for UFC Abu Dhabi
MAIN CARD
MAIN EVENT: Robert Whittaker (185.5) vs. Reinier de Ridder (186)
Petr Yan (135.5) vs. Marcus McGhee (136)
Shara Magomedov (186) vs. Marc-Andre Barriault (185)
Asu Almabayev (126) vs. Jose Ochoa (125.5)
Nikita Krylov (205) vs. Bogdan Guskov (205)
PRELIMS
Bryce Mitchell (136) vs. Said Nurmagomedov (136)
Muslim Salikhov (170.5) vs. Carlos Leal (170)
Davey Grant (136) vs. Da’Mon Blackshear (136)
Amanda Ribas (116) vs. Tabatha Ricci (115)
Ibo Aslan (204) vs. Billy Elekana (204.5)
Mohammad Yahya (146) vs. Steven Nguyen (145.5)
Martin Buday (266) vs. Marcus Buchecha (254)
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