Robert ‘The Reaper’ Whittaker will look to break the winning run of Ikram Aliskerov when the pair meet in the middleweight event of a UFC Fight Night, set for the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on the evening of Saturday 22 June 2024.
Whittaker (25-7) is looking to build momentum after defeating Paulo Costa via unanimous decision at UFC 298 in February, having gone 2-2 in his last four trips to the Octagon.
The 33-year-old New Zealander was originally slated to fight the unbeaten Khamzat Chimaev, but the latter has withdrawn from the match due to illness, allowing Aliskerov the chance to main event for the first time in his career.
“It was a little frustrating, I spent like three months working a very specific game plan for a very specific opponent, obviously Chimaev doesn’t fight like a lot of people, I really tailored the fight camp to that fighting style,” said Whittaker.
However, he never considered pulling out of the event: “There was no thought to not fight. That is my job, that is what I flew across the world to do, and that is how I put bread on the table for my family.”
Aliskerov (15-1) earned his spot in the UFC by defeating Mario Sousa in Series 54 of Dana White’s Contender Series in 2022, and has since claimed first-round stoppage wins over Phil Hawes and Warlley Alves. His winning run stretches to seven fights, back to December 2019.
In fact, the 31-year-old Russian’s only career defeat came at the hands of Chimaev back in April 2019 in the Brave Combat Federation series.
The rest of the main card in this first UFC event in Saudi Arabia features an all-Russian heavyweight co-main battle between Sergei Pavlovich and Alexander Volkov; a welterweight clash pits Kelvin Gastelum against Daniel Rodriguez; Muhammad Naimov faces fellow featherweight Melsik Baghdasaryan; and Johnny Walker take on Volkan Oezdemir in a light heavyweight opener.
UFC Fight Night: Whittaker v Chimaev
- Main event: Middleweight: Robert Whittaker v Ikram Aliskerov
- Heavyweight: Sergei Pavlovich v Alexander Volkov
- Welterweight: Kelvin Gastelum v Daniel Rodriguez
- Featherweight: Muhammad Naimov v Melsik Baghdasaryan
- Light heavyweight: Johnny Walker v Volkan Oezdemir