Costa (15-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) criticized De Ridder's split decision win over Robert Whittaker in Saturday's UFC on ABC 9 headliner in Abu Dhabi, where he survived a knockdown in Round 3 to win the fight. "With all due respect, I would knock out de Ridder 3 x wich round. All that said congrats for your win today, despite bad fight."

UFC star Reinier de Ridder doesn't seem too concerned by the possibility of facing Paulo Costa at some point in the future.

This past Saturday in the main event of UFC Abu Dhabi, we saw a big time matchup in the middleweight division. Former champion Robert Whittaker (26-9) was taking on the surging top contender and former ONE champion Reinier De Ridder (21-2).