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

Herzog was the third man on the octagon Saturday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi when Nguyen (11-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) battered Yahya (12-6 MMA, 0-3 UFC) all over the cage, scoring a new single-fight high six knockdowns landed before it was mercifully called off by the doctor at the conclusion of the second round.

UFC Abu Dhabi Results. Everything to know about Saturday's Robert Whittaker vs Reinier De Ridder fight card. Full fight card results, winners, losers, bonuses, scorecards

‘Funk Master’ has been vocal in the past about his thoughts on how he lost the 135-pound title. Sterling was stopped by Sean O’Malley in the main event of UFC 292, but he insisted that referee Marc Goddard had stopped the fight far too early.

On this week's episode of "Spinning Back Clique," our panel reacts to Reinier De Ridder's big win, some of the recent big fight bookings and more.

Jon Anik was as confused as the rest of us watching Steven Nguyen put a prolonged beatdown on Mohammad Yahya at UFC Abu Dhabi.

Though Jason Herzog didn’t stop the fight after Steven Nguyen broke the UFC record for most knockdowns in one fight, Mohammad Yahya was stopped by the doctor due to his gruesome injury. The first round was completely dominant for Nguyen, who seemingly couldn’t stop dropping his opponent every time he connected with a clean strike.