Robert Whittaker didn't expect it to attract Reinier de Ridder to the next UFC fight.

Former middleweight champion Whitaker (26-8 MMA, 17-6 UFC) will face DE Ridder (20-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) at the ABC 9 headline at the etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on July 26. Next, Whittaker and De Ridder were both fishing, facing Sean Strickland but getting along with each other.

"I told my manager, 'Talk with them, tell them I was looking for it in late June, International Battle Week looked good, and let us get something." "I kind of mentioned Strickland at the time. We were both there, and it makes sense, we never had a fight, let us finish. I was like, signed.

“I thought I was getting ready in late June, in Baku. Then they were like, 'rob, clutched, things were moving.' Many moving parts...and four days ago, they were like, "RDR, de Ridder, Main Event, Abu Dhabi, July 26." "What I want to know is, what I know is saying yes, right away."

De Ridder isn't the highest ranking contender, and it'll surely return to the title immediately, but he's motivated after delivering his first career loss at UFC on ESPN 67 earlier this month. Whittaker draws inspiration from his Australians, who currently owns UFC gold as he hopes to end his career.

"I'm looking forward to it," Whitaker said. "I want to go back there, I want to go back to that winning column. I have something that I know I don't want to fight forever. I have a few years left in my career and I want that fairy tale to end. Especially after seeing Volker, now JDM stands up and I want that fairy tale to end.