Khamzat Chimaev (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
You’ll be hard-pressed to find a UFC event whose main card isn’t facing a potentially massive reshaping. The upcoming UFC Saudi Arabia card, scheduled for June 22 in Riyadh at the Kingdom Arena, is getting a new main event matchup.
Former UFC champion and No. 3-ranked middleweight Robert Whittaker is getting a new opponent.
Khamzat Chimaev, the No-10-ranked middleweight in the promotion, has unfortunately been forced to withdraw from the event due to an illness he recently disclosed on social media.
In his place, Russia’s Ikram Aliskerov will be stepping up, as confirmed by a video message from UFC CEO Dana White. White described Chimaev’s condition as ‘violently ill ‘.
Initially, Aliskerov was set to face Antonio Trócoli in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 93 on Saturday night from the UFC Apex. Instead, the talented–but unranked–Aliskerov will get one of the toughest tests of his mixed martial arts career when he faces Whittaker.
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – OCTOBER 21: Ikram Aliskerov of Russia poses for a portrait after … [+]
We can’t definitively call it the toughest test of his career because Aliskerov has one defeat on his professional record, a KO loss to Chimaev when both men competed for Brave CF in April 2019.
Because of Aliskerov’s seven-fight win streak, history with Chimaev, and Islamic faith, he was a logical choice to step in as Whittaker’s opponent in Saudi Arabia.
Regrettably, for Trocoli, a Brazilian veteran with high hopes in the UFC, his fight has been abruptly canceled. Trocoli, who earned a contract with the UFC after a submission win over Kenneth Bergh on the Dana White Tuesday Night Contender Series in 2019, now faces a setback. His win was overturned, and the fight ruled a no contest, all because of a failed drug test.
Trocoli was also fined and suspended, and this fight with Aliskerov was supposed to be his second chance at the UFC. Unfortunately for him, that will have to wait.
The new co-main event of UFC Vegas 93 will be Douglas Silva de Andrade vs. Miles Johns. Here is a look at the reworked UFC Saudi Arabia card.
- Robert Whittaker vs. Ikram Aliskerov
- Sergei Pavlovich vs. Alexander Volkov
- Kelvin Gastelum vs. Daniel Rodriguez
- Johnny Walker vs. Volkan Oezdemir
- Shara Magomedov vs. Joilton Lutterbach
- Farid Basharat vs. Montel Jackson
- Nasrat Haqparast vs. Jared Gordon
- Kyung Ho Kang vs. Muin Gafurov
- Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Nicolas Dalby
- Magomed Gadzhiyasulov vs. Brendson Ribeiro
- Muhammad Naimov vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan
- Abu Azaitar vs. Denis Tiuliulin
- Xiao Long vs. Chang Ho Lee
Be on the lookout for more information on UFC Saudi Arabia as the event draws closer.
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