Khamzat Chimaev Out, Ikram Aliskerov To Fight Robert Whittaker At UFC Saudi Arabia
The UFC Saudi Arabia main event has received a shake-up. Khamzat Chimaev is out of the fight because of an illness. Ikram Aliskerov will fill in to fight Robert Whittaker. UFC CEO Dana White announced the new matchup on X.
Aliskerov was booked to fight at UFC Vegas 93 on June 13 against Antonio Trocoli. Now, he will wait a week to fight Whittaker in the UFC Saudi Arabia main event. The decision was likely an easy one as a fight against Whittaker is a massive opportunity on a big stage.
Aliskerov has established himself as a prospect to watch in his two UFC performances. In both outings, he impressed with first-round knockouts. Albeit, those wins came against Phil Hawes and Warlley Alves. Those were both fairly easy matchups. Still, he has shown skills worth getting excited about. If he can get the nod against Whittaker, he will receive even more praise and will skyrocket up the middleweight rankings.
This change in opponent is a massive blow for Whittaker. A win over Aliskerov does not provide as much value as a win over Chimaev. This could hurt his chances of getting a middleweight title opportunity. On a positive note, aspects of Whittaker’s training camp for Chimaev will remain applicable for the Aliskerov bout. The two fighters are not identical, but they have some overlapping skills. The most obvious is their offensive grappling.
This pullout is devastating for Chimaev. The benefits that would have come from a Whittaker win are no longer on the table. More importantly, a health issue has derailed his career once again. In 2021, he dealt with COVID-19 complications that forced him out of two fights with Leon Edwards and nearly forced him to retire. Chimaev’s health issues have hindered his ability to progress to a title fight for nearly four years.
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