Reinier de Ridder has officially entered the world of the middleweight elite after a grueling battle against Robert Whittaker at UFC Abu Dhabi.

UFC on ABC 9 (ABC, ESPN, ESPN+) took place Saturday, and MMA Junkie provided live round-by-round coverage and official result. UFC on ABC 9 took place at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. In the headliner, former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker (26-9 MMA, 17-7 UFC) took on former ONE champion Reinier de Ridder (21-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC).

The UFC handed out four bonuses after Saturday's card in Abu Dhabi, including a record-breaking performance. After UFC on ABC 9, four fighters picked up an extra $50,000 for their performances at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

Reinier de Ridder secured the biggest win of his Octagon career at UFC Abu Dhabi, narrowly securing a hard-fought split decision over former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker at the Etihad Arena in the United Arab Emirates.

SportsLine's Daniel Vithlani reveals his picks for the UFC Fight Night fight card from Etihad Arena at Yas Island in Yas West United Arab Emirates on Saturday

Mitchell (18-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) rallied from an early knockdown to outgrapple Said Nurmagomedov in Saturday's UFC on ABC 9 featured prelim at Etihad Arena. "Thug Nasty" admitted that Nurmagomedov (18-5 MMA, 7-4 UFC) gave him all he could handle.

Mohammad Yahya faced off against Steven Nguyen on the prelims of UFC Abu Dhabi, suffering a gnarly eye injury that is one of the worst you will ever ser.

Mixed martial arts legend Ben Askren has a positive long-term prognosis after recently undergoing a double lung transplant.

Yan (19-5 MMA, 11-4 UFC) made it three-straight wins after defeating Marcus McGhee in Saturday's UFC on ABC 9 co-main event at Etihad Arena. Yan was asked about the possibility of facing Nurmagomedov (18-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) next, but after their initial planned booking in June fell through, he's no longer interested.

UFC 319 has been needing a legit co-main event and today, we learned what that co-main event would be. At UFC Abu Dhabi this afternoon, it was announced that Aaron Pico (13-4) would be making his highly anticipated octagon debut in the co-main event of the next PPV against the undefeated Lerone Murphy (16-0-1).