Following the dramatic fallout of his fight against Khamzat Chimaev, former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker now has a new opponent. Ikram Aliskerov will fill in Chimaev’s spot when the action heads to Saudi Arabia for the UFC’s maiden event in the country on June 22. ‘The Reaper’ will be the Russian’s toughest foe to date as the Aussie veteran is certain to test Aliskerov’s skill, given that he was preparing for ‘Borz.’
Saturday’s main event card commences at 12.30 AM GMT +5.30/3 PM PT on ABC and ESPN+ while the prelims are scheduled at 9.30 PM GMT +5.30/12 PM PT on ESPN+. For fans who are looking to catch the action live from the Kingdom Arena, ticket prices start from 100 SAR at Webook.com. The ticket presale will be available on June 16, 11.48 PM EDT via UFC Fight Club and on June 19 via UFC Newsletter.
Fans can also tune in to the bout via UFC’s official application which lets you enjoy past fights along with live ones all on the go. While a win over Aliskerov likely won’t get Whittaker any closer to the current MW champion, Dricus du Plessis, or the MW gold, the fight will certainly earn him a fat paycheck.
Meanwhile, apart from the MW main event, the Saudi card is stacked to the core with promising fights from Sergei Pavlovich, Kelvin Gastelum, and many more.
UFC Saudi Arabia’s main card explored
In the co-main event, sparks will fly when the #3 ranked heavyweight Sergei Pavlovich takes on fellow Russian and #5 ranked contender Alexander Volkov. Former middleweight title contender Kelvin Gastelum is also another fighter who is featured on the card. His opponent is Daniel Rodriguez aka ‘D-rod’ who will look to bounce back from a loss in a welterweight bout against Gastelum.
The rest two are bouts in the featherweight and light-heavyweight categories. In the LHW category, fan-favorite Johnny Walker will lock horns with Swiss sensation, Volkan Oezdemir. Whereas, in the featherweight department, Tajikistan’s Muhammad Naimov will take on Armenian fighter and former Wu Lin Fang champion, Melsik Baghdasaryan.
