Reinier de Ridder picked up the biggest win of his career on Saturday when he took a hard-fought split decision over former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker in the main event of UFC Fight Night from Abu Dhabi.

Australia’s Robert Whittaker has suffered a heartbreaking split decision loss against Reinier de Ridder in Abu Dhabi – and after being “seconds” away from finishing the UFC middleweight division’s breakout star.

Follow UFC Abu Dhabi live results and round-by-round updates for the Robert Whittaker vs. Reinier de Ridder fight card on Saturday afternoon in Abu Dhabi.

This article was originally published on www.si.com/fannation/mma as UFC bogeyman flattened Robert Whittaker’s teeth with savage choke. Robert Whittaker returns from one of the most devastating losses of his career when he steps in the Octagon this weekend at UFC Abu Dhabi.

UFC star Robert Whittaker has said that UFC boss Dana White helped pay for new teeth following his defeat to Khamzat Chimaev.

"We would have crossed that bridge when we got there," Robert Whittaker smirked when asked whether he had contingencies in place in case things didn’t exactly go according to plan with Israel Adesanya.

Robert Whittaker and Reinier de Ridder compete in a pivotal middleweight clash weeks before Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev fight for the middleweight title. In the aftermath of UFC 318, the mixed martial arts promotion heads to Abu Dhabi.