UFC Saudi Arabia begin time, full struggle card particulars | Whittaker vs. Aliskerov

Final Preventing Championship (UFC) is headed to Saudi Arabia to stage the “Whittaker vs. Askirov”-led occasion from inside Kingdom Area later in the present day (Sat., June 22, 2024) in Riyadh. Headlining the occasion can be a Middleweight bout between Robert Whittaker vs. Ikram Aliskerov (not Khamzat), whereas hard-hitting Heavyweight contenders Sergei Pavlovich vs. Alexander Volkov throw fingers (reluctantly) within the co-main occasion.

What’s Scorching:

Whittaker’s final three defeats have come in opposition to Israel Adesanya and Dricus Du Plessis — the previous and present Middleweight champions of the world — so to even assume “The Reaper’s” greatest days are behind him is just false. At present ranked No. 3 on the earth at 185 kilos, Whittaker’s purpose is to in the future maintain the belt once more, and one other win or two may very nicely get him to the massive dance as soon as extra. Whereas a win over Khamzat Chimaev would’ve possible cemented his shot, taking out Aliskerov would nonetheless be a pleasant notch to have on his belt. And, since Chimaev is out, a powerful efficiency may nonetheless very nicely safe “Bobby Knuckles” a shot on the strap seeing as how Du Plessis and Adesanya will duke it out at UFC 305. It’s a harmful struggle for Whittaker, as a result of it appears as if he’s the one taking all the danger right here, so he must be cautious to not take his new foe frivolously.

Aliskerov’s fortunes modified in a split-second after Khamzat withdrew from this occasion, and he now has an opportunity to flip the division on its head by scoring an upset win over Whittaker. He solely has two fights — each wins — beneath the UFC banner, however is coming in on a seven-fight win streak. Granted it’s not the horny struggle we had been hoping for, however Aliskerov was in all probability the perfect the promotion may do on brief discover. It could be a case of “an excessive amount of, too quickly” for Aliskerov, however he’s recreation and gained’t again down from the problem. That mentioned, I simply don’t assume it’s going to work out for him. He’ll get props and respect for serving to save this cursed card, however he gained’t be elevating his hand in victory.

What’s Not:

I get that a number of accidents and different setbacks tarnished this occasion, and the primary card remains to be fairly stable, however man the undercard is severely missing (which we are going to focus on additional down the road). The promotion hoped to kick of its partnership with Saudi Arabia with a bang, however it form of doesn’t really feel that approach in any respect. Perhaps subsequent time?

Authentic Card Vs. Precise Card:

The unique fundamental occasion was, in fact, presupposed to function Khamzat dealing with off in opposition to Whittaker earlier than “Borz” received sidelined with a nasty case of partying an excessive amount of mysterious well being subject. Because of this, Aliskerov received the decision up on two week’s discover to fill the void. Joilton Lutterbach was pulled from his struggle in opposition to Sharabutdin Magomedov following a failed drug take a look at, and was changed by Antonio Trocoli. Mentioned Nurmagomedov was set to face Montel Jackson in a Bantamweight struggle however pulled out as a consequence of undisclosed causes and was changed by Farid Basharat.

Accidents:

Basharat was set to face Nurmagomedov at 135-pounds however was pressured out of the struggle with an undisclosed damage. No alternative was discovered, and Nurmagomedov was yanked from the occasion. Sedriques Dumas additionally suffered an undisclosed damage and was pulled from his scheduled struggle in opposition to Denis Tiuliulin. Melsik Baghdasaryan suffered a shoulder damage and was pulled from his struggle in opposition to Muhammad Naimov. He was changed by Felipe Lima.

New Blood:

Magomed Gadzhiyasulov will deliver his undefeated document of 8-0 to the Octagon to debut in opposition to Brendson Ribeiro. Gadzhiyasulov gained his struggle in opposition to Joe Medina by way of unanimous resolution on Contender Collection again in Oct. 2023, and he now has an opportunity to make a splash in his first official struggle with the promotion. All six of his finishes have come within the very first spherical and, curiously sufficient, Ribeiro was knocked out within the opening body by Mingyang Zhang in his UFC debut three months in the past.

After dropping his professional debut again in Aug. 2015, Felipe Lima has gone on a profitable rampage, racking up 12 straight victories, six by the use of stoppage. The 26 year-old Brazilian bomber will face off in opposition to Muhammad Naimov on the undercard. Naimov is at the moment on a six-fight win streak, which incorporates going undefeated (3-0) contained in the Octagon.

Trocoli was set to make his UFC debut final weekend in opposition to Aliskerov earlier than the latter was yanked to face Whittaker on this card. No fret, Trocoli wasn’t left empty-handed as a result of he was ultimately booked to face Sharabutdin Magomedov after his opponent, Joilton Lutterbach, was discovered to have a banned substance in his urine. With a document of 12-3, “Malvado” has a troublesome job available for his UFC debut, however it’s additionally a golden alternative to make a right away affect.

How The Prelims’ Look:

Headlining the undercard of this occasion can be a Light-weight bout between Nasrat Haqparast and Jared Gordon. After struggling back-to-back defeats to Dan Hooker and Bobby Inexperienced, Haqparast has bounced again properly by profitable three straight fights. As for Gordon, he’s coming off a technical knockout (TKO) win over Mark Madsen at UFC 295, his first victory since Aug. 2022.

One of the crucial intriguing matchups on the entire card is a Welterweight bout between Rinat Fakhretdinov and Nicolas Dalby. Each males are scorching scorching for the time being, with Rinat going unbeaten in his final 21 fights, although his most up-to-date struggle in opposition to Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos resulted in a draw. As for Dalby, he’s on a four-fight win streak and is 9-1-2 in his final 11 fights. This struggle has the possibility to steal the present.

There are some fighters who at occasions you overlook are beneath UFC contract, and Kang Kyung-ho is one in all them. He has been preventing for the promotion for 11 years now, however he has but to do something of notice to face out, regardless of going 8-4-1. He must be a bit extra energetic to achieve some momentum at Bantamweight. He’ll look at hand Muin Gafuron his third straight defeat contained in the Octagon. Gafuron hasn’t tasted victory beneath the brights lights of UFC so this may very well be his final likelihood to take action. Whereas ho does not want a win within the conventional sense to maintain his job, he wants a powerful victory to start out getting a bit extra consideration his approach.

Kicking off the occasion can be a 135-pound showdown between two younger and up-and-coming contenders as Lengthy Xiao battled Chang Ho Lee trying to shine of their official UFC debuts. Xiao is on a four-fight win streak, whereas Lee has gained three in a row. Each males made their solution to the promotion by way of “Street to UFC: Singapore,” and now intend to make a splash in an try to impress the upper ups. Lee made his professional debut simply seven years in the past, however hasn’t been overly energetic, competing solely 10 occasions to rack up a 9-1 document. Xio has extra expertise with 33 professional fights and a document of 26-7.

Who Wants A Win Badly:

Kelvin Gastelum was at one level thought-about to be a possible champion and famous person for the promotion. He has all the time been enjoyable to observe and has racked up spectacular wins, like knocking out Michael Bisping and Tim Kennedy (watch right here and right here), in addition to making it to an entertaining title struggle in opposition to Israel Adesanya. Nonetheless, he has actually gone downhill over the previous few years. Since 2019, Gastelum has amassed a sub-par 2-6 document along with his wins coming in opposition to Ian Heinisch and Chris Curtis. Initially set to face Daniel Rodriguez at Welterweight, Gastelum’s weight-cutting points resurfaced, prompting the promotion to modify the struggle to a Middleweight contest last-minute. The promotion has truly been very lenient with Gastelum in the case of his weight-cutting points, however I’m certain endurance is sporting skinny, particularly when the wins aren’t coming. I’m not saying the promotion will launch Gastelum with a loss, however he’s making it arduous for the matchmakers to maintain him round.

Curiosity Stage: 6.5/10

Within the co-main occasion of the night, Sergei Pavlovich and Alexander Volkov collide in a battle of Prime 5 huge males. Pavlovich was one win away from tasting UFC gold for the primary time, however finally ran right into a red-hot Tom Aspinall, who knocked him out at UFC 295 within the very first spherical to win the strap and Jon Jones sweepstakes … ultimately. The loss was Pavlovich’s first in 5 years, snapping his six-fight win streak, which all got here by way of first-round knockout. As for Volkov, his final loss additionally got here in opposition to Aspinall, however he has bounced again in a powerful approach by ending his subsequent three opponents.

Sharabutdin Magomedov has wasted no time in making an affect on the UFC, even when he has solely competed one time. His lone win got here in opposition to Bruno Silva by way of unanimous resolution, however the hype surrounding him is robust. The undefeated (12-0, 1-0 UFC) fighter from Dagestan has 10 wins by the use of knockout and can try to maintain his scorching streak going when he battles late alternative, Antonio Trocoli. We now have to watch out when proclaiming somebody the subsequent huge factor, however generally it appears it’s inevitable to do. Identical factor occurred with Khamzat Chimaev and, nicely, issues haven’t precisely panned out as many would have thought for “Borz” by now. Positive, Chimaev remains to be undefeated at 13-0, 7-0 UFC, however it’s secure to say a few of his luster is slowing creeping away. “Bullet” remains to be very younger in his UFC profession, however for now has all of the expertise to make one thing of himself contained in the Octagon, and spoiling Antonio Trocoli’s UFC debut is simply one other step in the suitable course.

Keep in mind when Volkan Oezdemir received a title shot in opposition to Daniel Cormier after simply three wins into his UFC profession? Effectively, it didn’t take lengthy for everybody to determine what sort of mistake that was. Not solely did Oezdemir get out-classed by “DC,” he hasn’t carried out a lot since to show he ever belonged in the identical cage with the previous two-division champion to start with. Certainly, “No Time” has gone 4-5 since that one-sided beatdown and has not gotten near even sniffing one other title struggle or the Prime 5. As for his opponent, Johnny Walker, he additionally stormed out of the gates and other people had been fast to say he would ultimately be an issue for Jon Jones. However the towering Brazilian — very similar to Oezdemir — by no means did a lot after his scorching begin to warrant a shot at “Bones.” With a document of simply 4-5-1 following a scorching begin of 3-0 beneath the UFC banner, Walker has carried out simply sufficient to entertain followers and maintain employment. I get that not each fighter will make it to a title struggle, and my level isn’t to trash these two males, however merely to remind everybody why it’s not good to label fighters because the “subsequent huge factor” too quickly. Anyway, these 205-pounders will collide to see who can get a few of their luster again in an try to get nearer to the Prime 5.

Benefit from the fights!

Full UFC Saudi Arabia Battle Card:

UFC Saudi Arabia Primary Occasion On ABC/ESPN+:

185 lbs.: Robert Whittaker vs. Ikram Aliskerov (not Khamzat Chimaev)

UFC Saudi Arabia Primary Card on ABC/ESPN+ (3 p.m. ET):

265 lbs.: Sergei Pavlovich vs. Alexander Volkov185 lbs.: Kelvin Gastelum vs. Daniel Rodriguez205 lbs.: Shara Magomedov vs. Antonio Trocoli (not Joilton Lutterbach)205 lbs.: Johnny Walker vs. Volkan Oezdemir

UFC Saudi Arabia ‘Prelims’ Card on ESPN/ESPN+ (12 p.m. ET):

155 lbs.: Nasrat Haqparast vs. Jared Gordon145 lbs.: Muhammad Naimov vs. Felipe Lima (not Melsik Baghdasaryan)170 lbs.: Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Nicolas Dalby135 lbs.: Kyung Ho Kang vs. Muin Gafurov205 lbs.: Magomed Gadzhiyasulov vs. Brendson Ribeiro185 lbs.: Sedriques Dumas vs. Denis Tiuliulin — CANCELED (particulars right here)135 lbs.: Xiao Lengthy vs. Chang Ho Lee

*Battle card, bout order and variety of fights stay topic to alter.*

Do not forget that MMAmania.com will ship LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow protection of your entire UFC Saudi Arabia struggle card proper right here, beginning with the ESPN/ESPN+ “Prelims” matches, that are scheduled to start at 12 p.m. ET, then the remaining fundamental card steadiness (on ABC/ESPN+) at 3 p.m. ET.

To take a look at the newest and best UFC Saudi Arabia: “Whittaker vs. Aliskerov” information and notes be sure you hit up our complete occasion archive proper right here.