A middleweight clash with title implications headlines UFC Fight Night in Abu Dhabi. Former UFC champion Robert Whittaker and former two-division ONE Championship king Reinier de Ridder fight weeks before a 185-pound title fight at UFC 319.

"We would have crossed that bridge when we got there," Robert Whittaker smirked when asked whether he had contingencies in place in case things didn’t exactly go according to plan with Israel Adesanya.

This article was originally published on www.si.com/fannation/mma as UFC bogeyman flattened Robert Whittaker’s teeth with savage choke. Robert Whittaker returns from one of the most devastating losses of his career when he steps in the Octagon this weekend at UFC Abu Dhabi.

Robert Whittaker’s teeth were brutally shattered in his last UFC fight. And with ‘The Reaper’ set to return to the same venue as his crushing defeat to Khamzat Chimaev last time

After Whittaker beat Yoel Romero to become interim champion and was later elevated to undisputed king when Georges St-Pierre vacated the throne, ‘The Reaper’ hoped to continue his charge toward greatness. At 185 pounds, the next step was a unification fight against Adesanya. Beyond that, though, the Australian had eyes on another piece of UFC gold.