The bout between Robert Whittaker and Ikram Aliskerov is a new main event of UFC debut in Saudi Arabia on June 22. The latter replaced Khamzat Chimaev, who was forced to withdraw due to illness. The pair squares off in a five-rounder at middleweight. The fight card airs live from Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.
New Zealand-Australian Robert Whittaker (25-7) targets his second straight victory. The 33-year-old former 185-pound titleholder earned a unanimous decision against Paulo Costa at UFC 298 in February.
Ikram Aliskerov (15-1) is riding a seven-fight winning streak, defeating Warlley Alves via first-round TKO last October. The 31-year-old’s sole career defeat goes back to April 2019, when he was KO’d by Chimaev in the first round.
Dana White made the new UFC Saudi Arabia main event announcement via a video posted on X. UFC CEO also said that Chimaev was “violently ill”.
With the change, the current UFC Saudi Arabia: Whittaker vs Aliskerov fight card look as the following:
Main card
- Robert Whittaker vs. Ikram Aliskerov, middleweight
- Sergei Pavlovich vs. Alexander Volkov, heavyweight
- Kelvin Gastelum vs. Daniel Rodriguez, welterweight
- Muhammad Naimov vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan, featherweight
- Johnny Walker vs. Volkan Oezdemir, light heavyweight
Preliminary card
- Sharabutdin Magomedov vs. Joilton Lutterbach, middleweight
- Nasrat Haqparast vs. Jared Gordon, lightweight
- Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Nicolas Dalby, welterweight
- Kang Kyung-ho vs. Muin Gafurov, bantamweight
- Magomed Gadzhiyasulov vs. Brendson Ribeiro, light heavyweight
- Sedriques Dumas vs. Denis Tiuliulin, middleweight
- Xiao Long vs. Lee Chang Ho, bantamweight – Road to UFC Season 2 bantamweight tournament final
- Montel Jackson vs. TBA, bantamweight