Costa (15-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) says knowing he outlasted Olympic silver medalist wrestler Yoel Romero in his fifth UFC fight in 2019, he's confident that he'll have the strength to fend off Chimaev's wrestling.

The main event of UFC Vancouver in October will pit Reinier de Ridder against Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez, potentially offering a clue to Khamzat Chimaev ’s first challenger for the middleweight title.

Robert Whittaker recently fired back at critics of the UFC 319 main event between Khamzat Chimaev and Dricus du Plessis.

Reinier de Ridder will face Anthony Hernandez in what will be an opportunity to make a statement to earn a shot at the newly crowned champion, Khamzat Chimaev. UFC Fight Night 262 takes place at Rogers Arena on Oct. 18. The promotion officially announced the matchup Tuesday.

Robert Whittaker defends Khamzat Chimaev’s dominant performance over Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 319 against fans who called it boring.

UFC 319 had all the makings of a blockbuster stacked card, highlight-reel finishes, and a main event with the kind of hype that doesn’t come around too often. And while the night delivered in spades with wild knockouts and nonstop action, the headliner left some fans grumbling.

Robert Whittaker opened up on Reinier de Ridder repeatedly grabbing his gloves in his UFC on ABC 9 loss. Whittaker (26-9 MMA, 17-7 UFC) was edged out in a split decision loss to De Ridder (21-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) in July in Abu Dhabi. The former middleweight champion almost finished De Ridder when he knocked him down in Round 3, but De Ridder survived.

Australia’s Robert Whittaker has suffered a heartbreaking split decision loss against Reinier de Ridder in Abu Dhabi – and after being “seconds” away from finishing the UFC middleweight division’s breakout star.