Fight Facts: UFC on ABC 9 ‘Whittaker vs. de Ridder’

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Fight Facts is a breakdown of all of the interesting information and Octagon oddities on every card, with some puns, references and portmanteaus to keep things fun. These deep stat dives delve into the numbers, providing historical context and telling the stories behind those numbers.

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TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC FIGHTS: 8,284
TOTAL NUMBER OF UFC EVENTS: 741

The Ultimate Fighting Championship started fairly strong in Abu Dhabi but petered out during the evening, following a growing trend of events that end in lulls. Fans proved unimpressed by the performance of the victorious headliner, whose wishes of a title tilt next may not be granted. UFC Abu Dhabi, also known as UFC on ABC 9, featured a mighty boop, an aging kung fu master keeping some firepower and a youngling shark that attacked when the moment was right.

Ho Hum: While the prelims alternated stoppages and decisions, the final four matches of the UFC on ABC 9’s main card all heard the final bell. In six of the 25 UFC shows aired this year, the night has concluded with at least three straight full-length bouts.

So Close Yet So Far: Losing a split call to Reinier de Ridder, Robert Whittaker did manage to knock the Dutchman down in the third frame. His nine knockdowns as a UFC middleweight tie him for the fifth-most all-time, with Anderson Silva and Israel Adesanya’s 13 sharing the top spot.

Hardly a Robbery: The 25-minute affair for de Ridder is his first fight to go to the scorecards since his 2021 rematch with Aung La N Sang for One Championship’s 225-pound belt. The decision snaps an eight-fight finish streak, win or lose, for the man formerly known as “The Dutch Knight.”

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Yan Can Still Cook: Outworking Marcus McGhee, Petr Yan earned his 11th win as a member of the UFC men’s bantamweight roster. He is one of eight combatants in company history to exceed 10 triumphs in that division.

Ceiling Established: Getting past Marc-Andre Barriault despite suffering massive nose damage, Sharabutdin Magomedov picked up the nod on all three cards. The Russian can account for all five of his career decisions in his last eight outings, including four in his six UFC bouts.

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Fist Went Boop: In the last stoppage on the card, Bogdan Guskov knocked Nikita Krylov’s block off in the first round. The Uzbekistan native has earned all 18 of his wins inside the distance.

Safety Glass Cannon: With 41 pro fights under his belt, Ukraine’s Krylov by way of Russia has suffered back-to-back knockout losses for the first time in his career. Less than 10% of his pro fights have been left in the hands of the judges.

Moving On: Claiming a decision over Said Nurmagomedov, Bryce Mitchell got back in the win column in a new weight class. The bantamweight has alternated wins and losses in his last seven appearances dating back to 2022.

Power Is Still There: To claim an extra $50,000 bonus check, Muslim Salikhov lamped Carlos Leal with one punch. The 41-year-old called “King of Kung Fu” pushed his finish rate as a professional up to 77% with his one-hitter quitter.

Shark Week: Tabatha Ricci notched her second stoppage due to strikes when she hammered Amanda Ribas with an elbow and forced referee Dan Movahedi to step it from follow-up punches. The woman known as “Baby Shark” last won with her fists in 2021, knocking out Shawna Lee Ormsby to earn a call up to the UFC.

Go Back to Narnia: Falling short to Billy Elekana on the scorecards, Ibo Aslan went the distance for the first time in his 17-fight career. All 14 of his past wins came by knockout with his two defeats via submission.

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More Like Seven or Eight: Beating the brakes off of Mohammad Yahya to force an eye injury stoppage at the end of the second round, Steven Nguyen officially dropped Yahya six times. This is the most in a single UFC fight, surpassing Forrest Petz’s and Jeremy Stephens’ five-knockdown drubbings of Sammy Morgan and Gilbert Melendez, respectively.

Always with the Heavyweight Over: Holding the line against newcomer Marcus Almeida, heavyweight Martin Buday claimed a unanimous verdict in his favor. “Badys” has earned six of seven UFC wins via decision, already placing him with the third-most wins of this method in the promotion’s heavyweight history. Marcin Tybura (eight) and Andrei Arlovski (12) are the only two ahead of him.


Never Say Never Again: Coming into UFC on ABC 9, McGhee had never lost on the scorecards (11 fights), Nurmagomedov had never dropped consecutive bouts (22 fights) and Leal had never been knocked out (28 fights).

He Wouldn’t Have Been Married: For the second recorded time in his career, Mitchell walked out to “Cotton Eye Joe” by Rednex. The Arkansas native has won on both occasions after being accompanied to that earworm tune.