Robert Whittaker is all set to face Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 208 in Abu Dhabi in October, but according to the Australian’s manager, “The Reaper” was originally targeted for a bout at UFC 305 in Perth, only for his planned opponent Sean Strickland to decline the fight.
Whittaker’s manager Titus Day chatted with Submission Radio in Australia, and revealed that his client had been offered, and accepted, a bout with Strickland at UFC 305, which was headlined by the middleweight title fight between Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya.
But, as Day explained, that bout never got off the ground after Strickland turned down the matchup.
“(The offer came) Straight after the last fight in Riyadh,” Day said.
“They said to us straight away, does Rob want to fight? Like, literally on the day.
“He said, ‘Does Rob want to fight Sean in Perth?’ And we said yeah, sure, absolutely. And apparently he said no. So yeah, that was it.
“And then we knew there was going to be an Abu Dhabi card coming up – Rob loves fighting there. And so he just said, ‘Yeah, I want to fight on that Abu Dhabi card.’ And they said, ‘Would you (accept a bout to) fight Khamzat again?’ He said, ‘Yep. for sure.'”
Whittaker was originally booked to face Chimaev back at UFC Saudi Arabia in June, but illness forced Chimaev off the card and Whittaker faced short-notice replacement Ikram Aliskerov, who he promptly finished in 109 seconds in Riyadh.
That was his last appearance in the Octagon, and now the UFC has revisted that original booking, with Whittaker and Chimaev set to face off at UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi on October 26.
As for Strickland, his next move is still to be confirmed, but Dana White had previously stated that the American was next in line for a shot at Du Plessis’ title after UFC 305. But he also left the door open for either Whittaker or Chimaev to change the UFC CEO’s mind.
“He deserves the fight, but you never know what could happen and how these fights could play out,” he said.
