‘There Was No Thought To Not Fight’

There was never a thought in Robert Whittaker’s mind that he’d withdraw from next weekend’s UFC Saudi Arabia card on ABC. The event is just too important for Whittaker to miss.

While most of the combat community has been worried about Conor McGregor’s injury and how it changes UFC 303’s landscape later this month, Whittaker casually accepted a short-notice fight on Thursday following the recent hospitalization of Khamzat Chimaev. Whittaker was scheduled to meet Chimaev atop UFC Saudi Arabia’s main card, but he will now meet Ikram Aliskerov instead.

Whittaker, who arrived to Saudi Arabia early in order to prepare for his main event fight, was as surprised as all of us to learn of Khamzat’s withdrawal. Chimaev doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to staying healthy, but it was so close to the fight that most thought everything was in the clear.

“Mate, when I knew it wasn’t happening (is when I found out). There weren’t any rumors or anything,” Whittaker told BJPENN.com. “It was just that Khamzat is out, and then what’s going on now?”

“It was a little frustrating, I spent like three months working a very specific gameplan for a very specific opponent, obviously Chimaev doesn’t fight like a lot of people, I really tailored the fight camp to that fighting style. I’m still fit, I’m still razor sharp,” added Whittaker.

“I flew out here and I understand I’m the main event of the card that comes with a level of responsibility, it’s how I earn my living. I wanted to fight, I wanted the show to go on, and I wanted to do my job, so hats off to Ikram for taking the fight, and to the UFC for setting it up, and I look forward to putting on a show.”

Luckily, Aliskerov was waiting in the wings ready to fill in for Chimaev. There weren’t many options to look at considering the short notice turnaround, but Aliskerov was already booked to fight this weekend at UFC Vegas 93. Pulling him from his co-main event duties to fill in against Whittaker atop UFC Saudi Arabia’s card seemed like a no-brainer.

“Mate, there was no thought to not fight.” said Whittaker. “That is my job, that is what I flew across the world to do, and that is how I put bread on the table for my family. I understand I am the main event, a lot of eyes. It’s the first card in Saudi Arabia, so I want to be a part of that,”

“There weren’t a lot of names thrown around, nobody would take it, it was too short notice,” he added. “I understand the level of danger Ikram brings in. He is a guy coming in last minute, he was fighting this weekend, so he’s ready, he has nothing to lose, everything to gain, and he has a dangerous skillset.”

Hopefully UFC is still able to deliver the goods for their debut in Saudi Arabia, opening up bigger and better cards in the future.