The UFC’s first Saudi Arabia debut saw the battle between UFC veteran Robert Whittaker and unranked opponent Ikram Aliskerov. The battle was the show’s headline, and it took place on June 22 at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.
The fight was short notice, as Whittaker was scheduled to battle Khamzat Chimaev. However, his opponent fell ill and was forced to withdraw from the middleweight bout, and Aliskerov replaced him.
The Russian has shown tremendous skills and impressive work, with a two-fight win streak in the promotion and a pro record of [15-1] prior to his defeat. Although unranked, he is a four-time world champion in combat sambo and a two-time European champion. Alas, he was no match for Whittaker, who had him on the canvas in the early round of the fight.
The two fighters came into the ring with a lot of energy, but Whittaker moved in for the kill with a huge overhand right hand that rocked Aliskerov. He continued with a strong jab and feinted a shot before delivering a nasty uppercut that dropped his opponent to the floor. He followed with several more shots before referee Marc Goddard ended the fight, earning him a knockout win in under 100 seconds.
After his defeat, Aliskerov seemed to have no regrets and took to social media to make a statement.
“Alhamdulilla, no excuses. I don’t regret anything. It was a big experience against one of the best in the sport. I’m young. I’ll work on my mistakes, learn and get back into business soon. Thank to everyone for your support messages.”
‘The Reaper’, on the otherhand is still eager to face his original opponent Chimaev. After his victory, Chimaev took to X congratulate his former rival. ‘
“Congratulations [Robert Whittaker], we are not done. I wish you a speedy recovery[ Ikram Aliskerov], keep your head up my brother.”
Following this post, reporters interviewed Whittaker and asked for his comments on Chimaev’s statement. “Don’t jump me as soon as I finish a fight,” He said during a post-fight press conference. “I don’t want people to do that—I say that, but I probably did that once or twice as well. Let me have this one for a little bit, all right? We can settle the score another day.”
‘When asked if he would compete at the UFC 305 fight in August, Whittaker replied.
“It’s on home soil. I plan to be there one way or another, but I do need to go back and talk to my team. I need to talk to my team about it. We’ve got to work on the other guys who are preparing. I took this fight and it sort of pushed a lot of things around. I want to go back and talk to my team. Perth, it’s my home turf. But, yeah, let me talk to my team.”
