Unranked UFC middleweight, Ikram Aliskerov, answered the call to step in on late notice to take on former middleweight champion, Robert Whittaker, in the UFC Saudi Arabia main event on June 22.
UFC star, Khamzat Chimaev, withdrew from his scheduled main event against Robert Whittaker after suffering further medical issues. The Chechen has historically suffered health complications throughout his four-year UFC tenure.
The promotion called upon unranked middleweight, Ikram Aliskerov, to step in on late notice to replace ‘Borz’, as the Russian was already scheduled to compete this past weekend.
Ikram Aliskerov details what Khabib Nurmagomedov told him
The 31-year-old’s last fight came against Warlley Alves at UFC 294 this past October, and the Russian scored a brutal first-round knockout.
After accepting the huge opportunity, Aliskerov will have the chance to enter the rankings at 185lbs, and immediately put himself into the title conversation with a win over ‘The Reaper’.
Once the Russian striker accepted the call, he called Khabib Nurmagomedov for his advice on how to approach the situation.
“After I took the fight I called Khabib. He said ‘You can’t miss these chances, you have to fly here and sweat for 2-3 days’,” Aliskerov told RedCornerMMA.
“We discussed (the fight). (He said) ‘Pay attention because he’s a striker, be attentive and everything will work out’.” Aliskerov added.
Despite calling upon ‘The Eagle’ for his advice, the former UFC lightweight champion won’t be making the trip out to Saudi Arabia as the team is still recovering from Islam Makhachev‘s recent win over Dustin Poirier at UFC 302.
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Ikram Aliskerov responds to Whittaker’s claim that he didn’t know who he was
Whittaker claimed in a recent interview with New York Post Sports that he hadn’t heard of Aliskerov before he was offered the fight against him, saying, “Ikram brings a different threat to the table (than Khamzat). I hadn’t heard of him or seen him fight before that.”
“I think he was lying,” Aliskerov responded. “I’m sure he rewatched my fight with Khamzat a million times because he was preparing for him,” the Russian added.
The 31-year-old’s lone professional loss came against Khamzat Chimaev in 2019 when he was brutally knocked out in round one by a vicious uppercut from ‘Borz’.
Aliskerov’s coach, Eldar Eldarov, has recently labeled ‘The Reaper’ as a worn-out fighter, however, the Russian doesn’t agree and believes the 33-year-old is still one of the best fighters in the world.
“Whittaker isn’t a young guy (but) he’s an elite middleweight and one of the best fighters in the world, anything can happen,” Aliskerov stated.
Whittaker hoping to secure another title shot with a win
The former middleweight champion last competed at UFC 298 this past February, dominating Paulo Costa comfortably over three rounds.
A win over Khamzat Chimaev will have likely secured Whittaker the next title shot, however, now he is fighting someone outside of the rankings, it is unclear whether Sean Strickland will leap over him in the pecking order.
Strickland’s last win also came against Costa earlier this month at UFC 302 and following his win, ‘Tarzan’ stated that he is going to sit out on the sidelines until he is given a title fight.
The promotion announced this past Monday that the middleweight title fight between Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya is finally official for UFC 305 on August 17, from Perth, Western Australia.