Robert Whittaker is treating Ikram Aliskerov as the toughest test he could face, much like he has treated Khamzat Chimaev and any other opponent.
In a last-minute change of opponent, the former middleweight champion is now set to face Aliskerov in the main event of Saturday's UFC Saudi Arabia. Whittaker was originally scheduled to face the unbeaten Chimaev, but when Chimaev was forced to withdraw due to illness, matchmakers pulled Aliskerov from the co-main event at last weekend's UFC Las Vegas 93 bout to replace Whittaker.
While much of the talk has been about what Whittaker's first win over Chimaev means and whether he'll get another shot at a UFC title, Whittaker is solely focused on the lesser known Aliskerov.
“My biggest focus was making sure the fight happened and seeing it through to the end,” Whittaker said at UFC Saudi Arabia media day. “Right now my biggest focus is beating Ikram.”
“He's a very dangerous opponent,” he continued. “On paper, he might be even more dangerous. [than Chimaev] I say that because he's very well-rounded, but honestly, every match comes with a level of threat and danger that you have to deal with.”
Chimaev and Aliskerov actually fought each other in 2019, a year before Chimaev burst onto the UFC scene. The bout in the Brave Combat Federation was short but close, with Chimaev ultimately winning by knockout.
Chimaev's star has only grown since then, and he would likely have been up for a welterweight or middleweight title fight by now if he hadn't had to pull out of multiple bouts due to health issues. Whittaker isn't disappointed to be the latest fighter to miss out on a fight with Chimaev, and he feels a lot of what the team did in camp can be applied to the replacement opponent.
“To be honest with you, I'm not too worried about who I'm fighting,” Whittaker said. “I'm here to fight. I was in good shape and I was ready to go. This is how I provide for my family. Everybody knew I wanted to fight. I'm here, so I'm going to fight.”
“At this stage of camp, all the training is done,” he continued. “I'm in good shape, I'm strong, I'm sharp. All the skills that I've been working on for Chimaev, there's no wasted skills, no useless skills. A lot of them can be used in this fight, so all the training is done. I'm ready.”
A win over Chimaev would catapult Whittaker to the front of the middleweight contenders, where he would face the winner of the matchup between champion Drix du Plessis and Israel Adesanya in the main event of UFC 305. Both fighters have wins over Whittaker, but the former champion has also recently defeated highly ranked contenders Paulo Costa and Marvin Vetri.
With Chimaev out of action for the time being, a win over Aliskerov might not have the same value to fans or the UFC, but either way, Whittaker is hopeful a win would bring in the right kind of benefits, whether that be a title fight or another chance to fight Chimaev.
“The only thing certain in the UFC is that winning gets you a win,” Whittaker said. “My focus is just to get a win this Saturday night and then the rest will come.”
“if [Chimaev is] “Our paths will cross because he and I are at the top of our games,” he continued. “I don't have anyone in particular that I want to fight. They just put their name forward to me and I said yes, and here we are.”
