Robert Whittaker secured an emphatic victory against Ikram Aliskerov on Saturday, winning your UFC main event in Saudi Arabia by knockout in the first round.
Whittaker, former middleweight champion, was initially going to face a rising contender Khamzat Chimaev on Saturday (June 22), but he withdrew due to illness.
The unranked Aliskerov – whose only previous loss as a professional was against Chimaev – stepped in to save the main fight of the UFCpremieres in Saudi Arabia.
And Whittaker, 33, quickly outclassed the Russian, 31, submitting him in two minutes in Riyadh.
The Australian hit Aliskerov with an overhand right, before following up with punches and a grazing kick to the head. Then came a hook against the fence, sealing Whittaker’s second consecutive victory.
The former champion suffered a shock defeat to Dricus Du Plessis in July, but has now bounced back with wins over Paulo Costa and Aliskerov. Meanwhile, Du Plessis won the title in January.
Along with Whittaker’s loss to Du Plessis, the Australian’s only defeats in the last 10 years have come against Israel Adesanya.
Adesanya knocked out Whittaker to win the middleweight belt in 2019, which he retained against the “Reaper” in a close rematch in 2022.
Adesanya later lost the title, regained it, and then lost it again. The Nigerian-born New Zealander is expected to challenge Du Plessis for the belt in Australia in August.
