The UFC will debut in Saudi Arabia this summer season, and it’s bringing a serious middleweight headliner with it.
Former champion Robert Whittaker will tackle Khamzat Chimaev in a five-round predominant occasion on June 22, UFC CEO Dana White introduced Thursday.
White added the bout’s winner will earn a crack at title gold and introduced the primary card will air on ABC.
Different fights on the cardboard embody Sergei Pavlovich vs. Alexander Volkov, Kelvin Gastelum vs. Daniel Rodriguez, Volkan Oezdemir vs. Johnny Walker, Shara Magomedov vs. Ihor Potieria.
BOOOOOOM!!!!!!
UFC is heading to Saudi Arabia for the primary time with a BAD ASS card, headlined by Whittaker vs Chimaev LIVE and FREE on ABC on June twenty second pic.twitter.com/2OZW2AEmLH
— danawhite (@danawhite) March 28, 2024
Whittaker (25-7 MMA, 16-5 UFC), No. 4 within the newest USA TODAY Sports activities/MMA Junkie middleweight rankings, seems to be to proceed the momentum from a unanimous resolution victory over Paulo Costa in February. The win was his second in three fights and bounced him again into the win column after a loss to Dricus Du Plessis.
Chimaev (13-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) returns for the primary time since September 2022, when he defeated former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman by majority resolution. The No. 8 middleweight’s different UFC victories embody Gilbert Burns and Kevin Holland amongst others.
The present UFC Saudi Arabia lineup contains:
Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev
Sergei Pavlovich vs. Alexander Volkov
Kelvin Gastelum vs. Daniel Rodriguez
Volkan Oezdemir vs. Johnny Walker
Shara Magomedov vs. Ihor Potieria
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