The UFC lands in Saudi Arabia for the first time in the promotion’s history this coming Saturday, as Robert Whittaker takes on Ikram Aliskerov in the main event at the Kingdom Arena, in Riyadh.
The promotion was scheduled to make its debut in Saudi Arabia back in March, but the event was postponed to ensure the best caliber of talent was available for the card, meaning it was pushed back to June 22nd.
It was then announced that Robert Whittaker would take on Khamzat Chimaev in the main event, in a middleweight title eliminator fight. Despite that, UFC CEO Dana White announced last week, that Chimaev has withdrawn from the bout, and Ikram Aliskerov was stepping in on late notice.
Let’s take a look at my main card predictions.
Johnny Walker hoping to waste ‘No Time’ in main card opener
Opening up the main card is a light heavyweight bout between the extrovert, Johnny Walker and Volkan Oezdemir.
Walker is looking to bounce back from a main event loss to Magomed Ankalaev this past January, whereas ‘No Time’ Oezdemir is hopeful of scoring back-to-back wins for the first time since 2019.
In his last outing against Bogan Guskov, Oezdemir showcased that he still has something to give in the light heavyweight division, submitting Guskov in the first round. Despite that, the 34-year-old seems to continuously come unstuck against the upper echelon of 205lbers.
The Brazilian on the other hand is always dangerous because of his utterly wild fight style, and had been looking impressive before his loss to Ankalaev.
I see Walker’s wackiness giving him the edge in this matchup, where he will eventually score a finish in round two.
Prediction: Johnny Walker via TKO
- COMPARISON: Former UFC champion predicts Khamzat Chimaev’s career will turn out similar to highly touted featherweight’s
Shara ‘Bullet’ given third different matchup for UFC Saudi Arabia card
Shara Magomedov was originally scheduled to take on Ihor Potieria on June 22, but the Ukrainian withdrew after suffering a concussion at UFC 301 this past May.
This opened the door for UFC newcomer, Joilton Lutterbach, who signed up to fight Shara ‘Bullet’ on late notice. Despite that, the Brazilian failed a urine test earlier this week and then admitted to taking ‘juice’ three months ago, prior to his UFC call-up.
With that, the promotion had to once again scramble around for a late-notice replacement, landing on Antonio Trocoli. ‘Malvado’ was scheduled to take on Aliskerov last weekend at UFC Vegas 93, but after Aliskerov accepted the late notice upgrade to fight Whittaker, Trocoli was left without a fight.
Ultimately, I expect the Russian to continue his impressive rise, by scoring a decision win.
Prediction: Shara Magomedov via Decision
Daniel Rodriguez hoping to make Kelvin Gastelum pay for weight-cut antics
It’s fair to say this event has been surrounded by controversy from the get-go, and Kelvin Gastelum didn’t help proceedings this past Thursday.
At the UFC Saudi Arabia media day, the former interim middleweight title contender admitted that he was pretty worried about what he was envisioning as a ‘rough weight cut’ for the final two days. Because of that, talks proceeded to get the bout changed to catchweight.
That, though, came at the expense of Daniel Rodriguez, who was already weighing 179lbs on Thursday afternoon. ‘D-Rod’ claimed that Gastelum couldn’t even make it down to 180lbs, so the fight was changed to a middleweight bout, meaning Rodriguez had to put weight back on.
Rodriguez will likely be heading into his fight against the 32-year-old with a chip on his shoulder and will look to make him pay for messing him around.
The 37-year-old has the boxing advantage in this fight, but I think Gastelum will come in with a wrestling-heavy approach, to sail to a decision win.
Prediction: Kelvin Gastelum via Decision
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Sergei Pavlovich looking to remind the heavyweight division in the co-main event
Sergei Pavlovich is looking to remind everyone that he is still that guy, following his knockout loss against Tom Aspinall at UFC 295.
Again, this fight comes with some slightly added controversy, as neither heavyweight wanted to fight each other, as they’re teammates.
Alexander Volkov even went as far as to admit that when they used to spar each other, he didn’t think he won a single round against the terrifying power puncher.
Having said that, we are now a few days out from the heavyweight matchup, which will likely not last long whichever way it goes.
Volkov undoubtedly has the skill and well-roundedness to make this a difficult fight for his Russian counterpart, but we’ve said that a few times when Pavlovich has been booked previously. I see the 32-year-old successfully returning to the win column with an early finish.
Prediction: Sergei Pavlovich via TKO
Robert Whittaker looking to earn another middleweight title shot with a win in the main event
Former middleweight champion, Robert Whittaker, was hopeful that a win over Khamzat Chimaev would earn him another shot at the middleweight title.
Now his dance partner is Ikram Aliskerov, ‘The Reaper’ may be in a lose-lose situation. A win over the unranked Russian is unlikely to put him next in line in the 185lb title conversation, but he can only beat who is put in front of him.
Ikram Aliskerov is coming off the back of an impressive knockout win over Warlley Alves back at UFC 294. Whittaker, though, is a completely different beast.
After a loss at UFC 290 to the current middleweight champion, Dricus Du Plessis, Whittaker returned to the win column this past February, dominating Paulo Costa over three rounds.
Although Aliskerov is a highly dangerous opponent, I believe Whittaker has the keys to becoming the undisputed UFC champion again, and he will prove that with a well-rounded performance this coming Saturday.
Prediction: Robert Whittaker via Decision
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