UFC fighter Robert Whittaker has revealed he contacted UFC to rebook his fighter with Khamzat Chimaev.
The fighter was scheduled to face Chimaev on June 22 at UFC Saudi Arabia. However, the Chenchen fighter withdrew from the contest due to an unspecified injury. Because of this new development, ‘The Reaper’ had to face replacement Ikram Aliskerov.
Whittaker made short work of his opponent and knocked him out in the first round. Despite his recent victory, Whittaker is still insistent on facing Chimaev and will return to the octagon in October. He revealed he was the one who spoke to the UFC about the matchup to re-book the battle with Khamzat Chimaev.
In a recent edition of MMArcade Podcast, the former champion spoke about Chimaev and his ferocity in the cage. He is determined to hand the undefeated fighter his first loss.
“Unfortunately, the business isn’t completely run on merit, and a lot of it is. But there are a lot of times and moments when it just is not,” Whittaker said. “Chimaev is a hard fight; he’s obviously a big draw, especially over there in Abu Dhabi… I think the UFC, story-wise, wants to see Chimaev get a shot at the champion or whatever. They want to see Chimaev at the top of the ladder; they want to see him in that picture. But I love disrupting their plans; I love derailing their stories, and that’s why I took the fight.
“You know, I asked for the fight straight after my last fight. I saw there was an Abu Dhabi card in October, the timeline fits perfectly, and I was like, I’ll fight Chimaev again. Let’s do it again. Just make sure he turns up.”
“I look forward to hard fights, and I know that if I beat Chimaev, there is nothing in my way to getting my belt back. Chimaev, as dangerous as he is, I don’t go into these fights thinking about what I have to lose. Much like how I took the fight with Ikram, I don’t look at the fights and think, ‘Oh man, it’s too big of a risk.’ Every fight’s a risk. You know, and I only go into fights because I have the confidence I’m going to beat and smash whoever is in front of me, and that doesn’t change with Chimaev.”
Whittaker’s opponent, ‘Borz’, has been out of action since suffering a torn ligament last year that kept him out of the cage for a while. Despite this injury, he seems to be fully recovered and ready to face his opponent, Whittaker. He is set to make his third cage appearance this year.
