Robert Whittaker vs. Reinier de Ridder
Tale of the tape
The read
Level of competition
Robert Whittaker
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 18 | 7 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 9 | 2 |
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
Reinier de Ridder
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 11 | 4 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 10 | 0 |
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
Striking
Significant strikes — landed & absorbed
Where the fight happens (share of sig. strike attempts)
Robert Whittaker
Distance 90.5% (norm 79.5%) · Clinch 4.9% (norm 9.0%) · Ground 4.6% (norm 10.0%)
Reinier de Ridder
Distance 71.5% (norm 79.5%) · Clinch 7.2% (norm 9.0%) · Ground 21.4% (norm 10.0%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Robert Whittaker
Head 83.6% (norm 78.0%) · Body 7.3% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 9.1% (norm 8.4%)
Reinier de Ridder
Head 77.6% (norm 78.0%) · Body 18.4% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 4.0% (norm 8.4%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Whittaker L/A | Acc | Middleweight med | de Ridder L/A | Acc | Middleweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 1288 / 3106 | 41.5% | 40.5% | 157 / 358 | 43.9% | 40.5% |
| In the clinch | 100 / 167 | 59.9% | 70.6% | 31 / 36 | 86.1% | 70.6% |
| On the ground | 101 / 159 | 63.5% | 69.4% | 86 / 107 | 80.4% | 69.4% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 1069 / 2869 | 37.3% | 38.8% | 191 / 389 | 49.1% | 38.8% |
| To the body | 153 / 250 | 61.2% | 71.6% | 66 / 92 | 71.7% | 71.6% |
| To the legs | 267 / 313 | 85.3% | 83.3% | 17 / 20 | too few to rate | 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 Whittaker L/A | Opp acc | Middleweight med | vs de Ridder L/A | Opp acc | Middleweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 965 / 2563 | 37.7% | 39.5% | 134 / 290 | 46.2% | 39.5% |
| In the clinch | 120 / 172 | 69.8% | 70.4% | 14 / 18 | too few to rate | 70.4% |
| On the ground | 63 / 77 | 81.8% | 69.0% | 47 / 61 | 77.0% | 69.0% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 645 / 2110 | 30.6% | 37.9% | 152 / 310 | 49.0% | 37.9% |
| To the body | 234 / 378 | 61.9% | 71.3% | 24 / 38 | 63.2% | 71.3% |
| To the legs | 269 / 324 | 83.0% | 82.1% | 19 / 21 | too few to rate | 82.1% |
Grappling
Bars compare the two men's rates (per-minute / per-15 figures), not raw totals — Whittaker has more cage time on record.