Former middleweight king Robert Whittaker says his UFC Saudi Arabia opponent is in for a tough night at the office if he can’t get one key thing right.
Whilst the headlines surrounding the UFC schedule in June are understandably dominated by UFC 302 and a ‘Notorious’ return at UFC 303, there’s a fantastic matchup looming over the horizon between Robert Whittaker and undefeated phenom, Khamzat Chimaev.
Robert Whittaker takes on Khamzat Chimaev at UFC Saudi Arabia
Former middleweight champion and #3 ranked middleweight in the world Robert Whittaker returns to action on June 22 to face the undefeated prospect Khamzat Chimaev.
‘The Reaper’ is looking to make it two-for-two in 2024, having bounced back from a knockout loss to now-champion Dricus du Plessis with an impressive UD victory over Paulo Costa earlier in the year.
Yet there have been very few hype trains quite like Khamzat Chimaev, and whilst that train might have slowed following an extended period of inactivity, Whittaker knows that victory in Saudi Arabia will come down to one key factor.
Robert Whittaker explains how he’ll deal with the wrestling of ‘Borz’
Speaking with Niko Pajarillo via the mainevent YouTube channel, Robert Whittaker was asked what he thought about Khamzat Chimaev’s wrestling ability and how he’s going to be able to deal with the relentless takedown attempts of ‘Borz’.
“I give him things to worry about, I definitely think controlling the spacing will be important in this fight [but] I’m ready, I’m ready for the wrestling exchanges, I’m ready for the scrambling and I hope he is [too].”
The former middleweight champion argued that “controlling the space and giving him things to worry about” will be key to making sure that Chimaev “can’t freely shoot” on his legs, before reiterating that the best form of defense is offense.
“When he does shoot, make sure that I out-scramble him. Make sure he has to pay twice for the takedowns and it’s a five-round fight so I’m sure his pacing will be a little different, otherwise, it’s going to be an early night for him.”
Whilst Chimaev is known as being a fast starter, his cardio and pacing going into the later rounds has been called into question on more than one occasion, with UFC Saudi Arabia being only his second scheduled five-round fight in the promotion, albeit that other bout ended within the first round vs Kevin Holland.
Whittaker noted that he’s aware of both the physical strength of Chimaev, who famously picked up and carried Li Jingliang across the octagon in their 2021 fight, as well as the striking credentials of the undefeated contender.
“I’m not really worrying about that too much… It’s something to be aware of and he’s got power, a very clean 1-2 down the pipe and I am taking it under [consideration], I’m aware of it and definitely not underestimating him, but I can handle it.”
Certainly, if the fight remains on the feet, then Whittaker will have a clear advantage, with ‘The Reaper’ already possessing nine KO/TKO wins in his career to date, five of which have come in the UFC.
Interestingly, Whittaker also noted that he’s learning a lot from Brazilian fan-favorite Gilbert Burns’ fight against Chimaev and how ‘Durinho’ was able to out-strike, and eventually drop, Chimaev in their FOTY contender in 2022.
“I do think I have the striking superiority, he’s quick enough but I don’t think he’s quicker than me though… He [Burns] took away his strength of grappling and put him in danger in a lot of situations with his striking and in my opinion, my striking is faster and cleaner than Gilbert Burns.”
The UFC Saudi Arabia event will be the third time that Whittaker has traveled to the Middle East with the promotion: “It’s not enemy territory, I fit in well and have a lot of fans there,” said the former 185lb champion.
Robert Whittaker vs Khamzat Chimaev goes down on June 22 live from the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.