UFC Saudi Arabia: Chimaev Out, Islam Aliskerov to Fight Whittaker
Islam Aliskerov will fight Robert Whittaker in the new main event of UFC Saudi Arabia Fight Night event.
Khamzat Chimaev was supposed to face Whittaker earlier. However, he suffered severe illness as per UFC President Dana White, and resultantly, had to pull out of the bout. White then announced Aliskerov as the replacement on Saudi Arabia card on June 22, 2024.
Chimaev’s teammate Mukhammad Eskirkhanov posted some pictures of Khamzat Chimaev being hospitalized. The change of main event was first reported by Australia MMA Insider Benny P.
During the announcement, White highlighted how Islam Aliskerov has only one loss in his MMA career so far which came against Chimaev itself, and how Aliskerov has emerged as a legit contender in just his third UFC Fight. So far, Aliskerov has defeated Phil Hawes and Warlley Alves in his two UFC fights, both of which ended via first-round knockouts.
Aliskerov was set to face Antonio Trocolli at UFC Vegas 93 this Saturday and might have been in the middle of his weight cut when this offer might have come. Now, he gets one week extension to take on a much more celebrated opponent in Robert Whittaker.
Former UFC Middleweight Champion Whittaker is coming off a win over Paulo Costa at UFC 298. Prior to that, he suffered a loss to Dricus Du Plessis in the #1 contender bout for the middleweight title at UFC 290.
UFC Saudi Arabia Fight Night on June 22 will be UFC’s first ever event in the country. The event will take place at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.