Whittaker vs. De Ridder: Odds, Picks and Preview

The UFC returns to Abu Dhabi on Saturday. Notable fighters include: Sharabutdin Magomedov, Petr Yan, Bryce Mitchell, Said Nurmagomedov, Reinier de Ridder and Robert Whittaker. I've taken a look at the main event and provided the odds for the various fights. I've also included a complimentary selection. 

The Main Event features a five-round clash between two tough 34-year old middleweights, Robert Whittaker (26-8) and Reinier de Ridder. Whittaker, a former UFC middleweight champion, is coming off a submission loss to Khamzat Chimaev in his last fight. Meanwhile, de Ridder (20-2) is coming off an upset win over Bo Nickal, his fourth straight victory. The victory over Nickal opened a lot of eyes and established "the Dutch Knight" as a serious contender in the UFC middleweight division. Some of you may recall that we had a win with the under in de Ridder's previous fight, a 1st round victory over Kevin Holland. Whittaker is still a -140 favorite but some money has come in on de Ridder. The O/U line is 2.5 suggesting we have a pretty good chance at seeing a stoppage. This should be a good fight. I lean to Whittaker. He's been here before and his big fight experience will prove significant. 

The co-Main Event was originally supposed to feature Movsar Evloev taking on Aaron Pico at featherweight, also a 5-round fight. However, Evloev pulled out. Despite having lost its co-main event, the UFC Abu Dhabi card is still strong for a Fight Night. Shara Magomedov returns to action to take on Marc-Andre Barriault. Also, former bantamweight champion Petr Yan squares off against surging Marcus McGhee.

The Pick
Bryce Mitchell: Nurmagomedov has a scary sounding last name. He's no Khabib though. He's dropped 2 of his last 3 fights. The same can be said for "Thug Nasty," as Mitchell has also lost 2 of his last 3 fights. Mitchell is favored fo good reason, his superior grappling and relentless wrestling, which align well against Nurmagomedov’s weaknesses, give him the advatange. While Bet Online is at -140, Mitchell is available at -128 at Pinnacle and -130 at Heritage. Circa is at -135. Get the best line you can and Play on Mitchell. 

UFC Abu Dhabi Odds
Here are the current odds, as of Wednesday afternoon. In cases where the line has moved, I've included a note about which way its been going.

Robert Whittaker -140 *This line has come down. Whittaker was previously a larger favorite.
Reinier de Ridder +120

Petr Yan -375 *This line has come down. Yan was previously a larger favorite.
Marcus McGhee +300

Bryce Mitchell -140
Said Nurmagomedov +120

Sharabutdin Magomedov -650 *This line has risen. Magomedov is now a larger favorite than he previously was.
Marc-Andre Barriault +475

Nikita Krylov -200 *This line has risen. Krylov is now a larger favorite than he previously was.
Bogdan Guskov +170

Amanda Ribas -190 *This line has risen. Ribas is now a larger favorite than she previously was.
Tabatha Ricci +165

Asu Almabaev -115
Jose Ochoa -105

Carlos Leal -500 *This line has risen. Leal is now a larger favorite than he previously was.
Muslim Salikhov +375

Da’Mon Blackshear -330
Davey Grant +275

Marcus Buchecha -300
Martin Buday +250

Ibo Aslan -255
Billy Elekana +215

Steven Nguyen -350
Mohammad Yahya -286