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Reinier de Ridder vs. Robert Whittaker

UFC 5-2-0 vs. 18-7-0

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
5-2-0
UFC record
18-7-0
Middleweight
Division (benchmark)
Middleweight
36
AgeΔ 1 yrs
35
6'4"
HeightΔ 4"
6'0"
78"
ReachΔ 5"
73"
Southpaw
Stance
Orthodox
1.9
Layoff (months)Δ 1.4 mo
3.3
WLLWW
Last 5 (newest first)
WLLWW

The read

Stats 25%+ off the division median
Reinier de Ridder owns the mat — in control 37% of cage time, vs a 19% Middleweight norm.
Reinier de Ridder hunts takedowns — 2.44 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.35 Middleweight norm.
Robert Whittaker carries real power — 0.53 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.32 Middleweight norm.

Level of competition

Full-career record by tier of opposition

Reinier de Ridder

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 114
Tier 3 — regional circuit 100

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.61 · 11 tier-1/2 wins · 18 finish wins over 25 documented bouts

In the UFC: 5-2 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +5.9 wins over .500

Robert Whittaker

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 187
Tier 3 — regional circuit 92

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.3 · 18 tier-1/2 wins · 16 finish wins over 36 documented bouts

In the UFC: 16-7 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +4.1 wins over .500

Striking

Career totals · norms = own-division medians

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

2743.18/min · norm 3.23
Sig. strikes landed
14894.41/min · norm 3.23
1952.26/min · norm 3.20
Sig. strikes absorbed lower is better
11483.40/min · norm 3.20
54.7%norm 47.4%
Striking accuracy
43.4%norm 47.4%
47.2%norm 53.8%
Striking defense
59.2%norm 53.8%
20.35/15 · norm 0.32
Knockdowns
120.53/15 · norm 0.32

Where the fight happens (share of sig. strike attempts)

Reinier de Ridder

Distance 71.5% (norm 79.5%) · Clinch 7.2% (norm 9.0%) · Ground 21.4% (norm 10.0%)

Robert Whittaker

Distance 90.5% (norm 79.5%) · Clinch 4.9% (norm 9.0%) · Ground 4.6% (norm 10.0%)

What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)

Reinier de Ridder

Head 77.6% (norm 78.0%) · Body 18.4% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 4.0% (norm 8.4%)

Robert Whittaker

Head 83.6% (norm 78.0%) · Body 7.3% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 9.1% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.

Zone de Ridder L/AAccMiddleweight med Whittaker L/AAccMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 157 / 358 43.9% 40.5% 1288 / 3106 41.5% 40.5%
In the clinch 31 / 36 86.1% 70.6% 100 / 167 59.9% 70.6%
On the ground 86 / 107 80.4% 69.4% 101 / 159 63.5% 69.4%
BY TARGET
To the head 191 / 389 49.1% 38.8% 1069 / 2869 37.3% 38.8%
To the body 66 / 92 71.7% 71.6% 153 / 250 61.2% 71.6%
To the legs 17 / 20 too few to rate 83.3% 267 / 313 85.3% 83.3%

Zones with fewer than 25 attempts are marked "too few to rate". Each fighter is measured against the median of leaderboard-eligible fighters in his own division (Middleweight: 178 fighters · Middleweight: 178 fighters).

What lands on them Opponents' accuracy against each man

Green ≤ division median — harder to hit than the typical man in his division.

Zone vs de Ridder L/AOpp accMiddleweight med vs Whittaker L/AOpp accMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 134 / 290 46.2% 39.5% 965 / 2563 37.7% 39.5%
In the clinch 14 / 18 too few to rate 70.4% 120 / 172 69.8% 70.4%
On the ground 47 / 61 77.0% 69.0% 63 / 77 81.8% 69.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 152 / 310 49.0% 37.9% 645 / 2110 30.6% 37.9%
To the body 24 / 38 63.2% 71.3% 234 / 378 61.9% 71.3%
To the legs 19 / 21 too few to rate 82.1% 269 / 324 83.0% 82.1%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
1429.2% acc · 2.44/15 · norm 1.35
Takedowns landed
1638.1% acc · 0.71/15 · norm 1.35
240.0% def · norm 63.3%
Takedowns stopped
7680.0% def · norm 63.3%
31:4136.8% of cage time · norm 19.4%
Control time
26:397.9% of cage time · norm 19.4%
20:243:33 per 15 · norm 3:00
Time under control lower is better
36:231:36 per 15 · norm 3:00
30.52/15 · norm 0.45
Submission attempts
00.00/15 · norm 0.45

Bars compare the two men's rates (per-minute / per-15 figures), not raw totals — Whittaker has more cage time on record.