"This isn’t the end" - Robert Whittaker breaks silence after Reinier de Ridder loss loss and addresses comeback post UFC Abu Dhabi setback

Robert Whittaker recently shared his thoughts after his defeat to Reinier de Ridder. Whittaker congratulated de Ridder on his victory, reflected on his mistakes, and asserted his determination to make a comeback.

Whittaker and de Ridder faced off in the main event of UFC Abu Dhabi last weekend. After a hard-fought five-round bout, the judges' verdict favored the Dutch fighter, who was declared the winner by split decision.

In a post on Instagram, 'The Reaper' reflected on his loss to de Ridder, saying:

"I'm disappointed, but I'm not disheartened. 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 all you can do. Congratulations to de Ridder. He had a particular game plan. He executed it well. It got him the win."

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He added:

"It is what it is sometimes. But yeah, I'm gonna learn from this experience and move forward... but this isn't the end of Robert Whittaker. 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."

Check out Robert Whittaker's comments below:

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UFC analyst Din Thomas discusses next potential opponent for Robert Whittaker

Robert Whittaker's defeat against Reinier de Ridder marked a consecutive loss for the second time in his UFC career. In the bout before facing de Ridder, he lost to Khamzat Chimaev.

In a recent discussion on The Bohnfire, UFC analyst Din Thomas shared his thoughts on potential opponents available for Whittaker next, saying:

"I think you give him Roman Kopylov. I think you give him Kopylov before you start feeding them to the guys, right?... Because Kopylov's kind of in the back, right?... You give him Kopylov to say, "Alright, we're giving you number 15. You win that, we keep you up here, and we'll keep you fighting these guys. But if you lose that, now you got to fight the up-and-comers."

Check out Din Thomas' comments below (43:10):

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Edited by Nilaav Gogoi