The UFC have moved quickly to book a new main event for UFC Saudi Arabia after their planned middleweight matchup between Khamzat Chimaev and Robert Whittaker fell through.
Chimaev was forced out of the event due to illness, and in a video update posted to his social media channels, UFC CEO Dana White confirmed the new headliner for the June 22 event in Riyadh.
.@robwhittakermma vs Aliskerov LIVE and FREE on @ABCNetwork Saturday June 22nd @Turki_alalshikh #UFCSaudiArabia @RiyadhSeason #RiyadhSeason pic.twitter.com/ERPDi5XEqT
— danawhite (@danawhite) June 13, 2024
“Unfortunately, Khamzat Chimaev is out of the fight next week in Saudi Arabia – violently, and I mean violently, ill,” he explained.
“So he’s going back home and hopefully he gets well soon. His replacement, Ikram Aliskerov.
“Who is Ikram Aliskerov? This guy is 15-1 and his only loss in his 16-fight pro career is to Khamzat Chimaev. So this dude is a legit contender in only his third UFC fight.
“If he gets a knockout against Robert Whittaker, he’ll go into a tie for the longest active UFC knockout streak. He’s got seven first-round finishes, six wins by knockout, five by submission. This guy has finished 11 of 15 wins, 73 percent finish rate. He’s on a seven-fight win streak.”
White then explained how tricky it was to ensure that Aliskerov had an opponent as he hinted that the UFC had attempted to create a fresh matchup, only to come back to Whittaker for one clear reason – he was the only one prepared to say yes.
“We offered everybody in the division this fight,” White explained.
“Nobody would take it, except Robert Whittaker. The main event is badass. This should be a great fight and, Khamzat, get well soon, my friend.”
UFC Saudi Arabia: Confirmed fight card
MAIN CARD
- Robert Whittaker vs. Ikram Aliskerov
- Sergei Pavlovich vs. Alexander Volkov
- Johnny Walker vs. Volkan Oezdemir
- Kelvin Gastelum vs. Daniel Rodriguez
- Muhammad Naimov vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan
- Shara Magomedov vs. Joilton Lutterbach
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Nasrat Haqparast vs. Jared Gordon
- Muin Gafurov vs. Kyung Ho Kang
- Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Nicolas Dalby
- Magomed Gadzhiyasulov vs. Brendson Ribeiro
- Abu Azaitar vs. Denis Tiuliulin
- Farid Basharat vs. Montel Jackson
- Long Xiao vs. Chang Ho Lee
