A vicious round 1 KO or Robert Whittaker’s blitz isn’t a deterrent for Khamzat Chimaev who was supposed to headline the event against ‘The Reaper’ on Saturday. Falling ill at the worst possible time, ‘Borz’ had no option other than to pull out of the fight and watch the former MW champion dismantle the Dagestani in under two minutes.
Despite Whittaker’s massive statement, proving that he is indeed one of the elite strikers in the sport, the Chechen is not fazed, not even a bit! In fact, he took to his X account to congratulate the Aussie, and wrote,
“Congratulations @robwhittakermma we are not done! I wish you a speedy recovery @ikram_aliskerov keep your head up my brother.”
Поздравляю @robwhittakermma мы не закончили дело!
Желаю скорейшего восстановления @ikram_aliskerov выше голову брат мой ☝🏼🤝— Khamzat Chimaev (@KChimaev) June 22, 2024
Originally written in Russian, the undefeated fighter appeared to be more respectful than usual. According to the “X” translations, while congratulating Whittaker, Chimaev reminded the veteran of their unfinished business and hinted at a reschedule.
Moreover, despite being someone who loves to resort to trash talk, Chimaev was impressed by Whittaker’s performance. and he even took the opportunity to pat his replacement, Ikram Aliskerov, on the back for his valiant effort on short notice.
In fact, Bobby Knuckles’ performance was identical to Chimaev’s when he fought the Dagestani. Much like Whittaker who pried open the Russian’s guard with a devastating uppercut, Chimaev also utilized the same looping punch to defeat the World Sambo champion when they met in BRAVE CF23.
With this spectacular win, Whittaker also took home the Performance of The Night bonus, proving that he has still got it.
Robert Whittaker gets Dana White’s POTN in Riyadh
Starting the main card was Swiss powerhouse and Chimaev’s All-Star teammate Volkan Oezdemir who laid out Johnny Walker in the very first round. Finding the Brazilian’s chin, ‘No Time’ wasted absolutely no time, firing away massive punches while Walker was caught against the cage unable to slip away. Finally, a crisp uppercut connected and Walker crumbled to the floor, getting Oezdemir Dana White’s POTN bonus.
The closing fight of the card also got a special mention when Robert Whittaker earned White’s $50k bonus after stopping the hype train and knocking out Ikram Aliskerov in R1. The Aussie’s blitz was too much for the unranked fighter who previously had just three fights in the promotion.
