The Reaper’ claims statement win
Robert ‘The Reaper’ Whittaker claimed a statement win over Ikram Aliskerov in the middleweight main event of the UFC’s first fight night in Saudi Arabia, held at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh on Saturday night.
Whittaker, who was originally slated to face Khamzat Chimaev, needed less than two minutes of round one to end the seven-fight winning streak of Aliskerov, who stepped in at relatively short notice.
‘The Reaper’ first wobbled his opponent with an overhand right, then forced him back to the fence and tried a head kick which didn’t quite connect.
However, Whittaker followed it up with a superb uppercut that dropped Aliskerov to his knees.
A flurry of follow-up strikes followed, before the referee intervened to stop the fight.
BOBBY KNUCKLES JUST DID THAT 🤯@RobWhittakerMMA with a massive KO win in the Kingdom!#UFCSaudiArabia | #RiyadhSeason pic.twitter.com/LZHqKFGgFX
— UFC (@ufc) June 22, 2024
“I’m the bogey man, I’m the best in the world, the most dangerous match up for anyone in the division,” said Whittaker in his post-fight interview. “I’m the most dangerous middleweight in the world.”
"I'm the boogeyman."
— UFC (@ufc) June 22, 2024
We might have a new nickname loading for @RobWhittakerMMA 🤔#UFCSaudiArabia | #RiyadhSeason pic.twitter.com/jR3zP3xxfX
The 33-year-old New Zealand-born Australian then affirmed his desire to be a backup for UFC 305 in Perth in August, which is slated to be headlined by a middleweight championship bout between Dricus du Plessis and Israel Adesanya.
The rest of the main card saw Alexander Volkov overcome Sergei Pavlovich via unanimous decision in an all-Russian heavyweight co-main; Kelvin Gastelum outpointed Daniel Rodriguez over three rounds of a fight that was held at middleweight rather than the original welterweight; Sharabutdin Magomedov stopped Antonio Trocoli in the third round of their middleweight clash; and Volkan Oezdemir knocked out Johnny Walker cold in the first round of their light heavyweight opener.
Wins like these are #EasyToCelebrate 🍻
— UFC (@ufc) June 22, 2024
[ B2YB: @BudLight ] pic.twitter.com/RS4H5C6Whv
Next weekend brings UFC 303 from Las Vegas on Sunday morning (30 June), headlined by a light heavyweight championship title fight between Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochazka.
UFC FIGHT NIGHT: RESULTS
- Main event: Middleweight: Robert Whittaker def. Ikram Aliskerov via TKO (punches), R1, 1:49
- Heavyweight: Alexander Volkov def. Sergei Pavlovich via unanimous decision (30-27 30-27 29-28), R3, 5:00
- Middleweight: Kelvin Gastelum def. Daniel Rodriguez via unanimous decision (29-28 30-27 30-27), R3, 5:00
- Middleweight: Sharabutdin Magomedov def. Antonio Trocoli via TKO (knees and punches), R3, 2:27
- Light heavyweight: Volkan Oezdemir def. Johnny Walker via KO (punches), R1, 2:28
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