Robert Whittaker once again has entered the middleweight championship title picture.
UFC CEO Dana White unveiled several fights for the promotion’s inaugural event in Saudi Arabia, featuring a middleweight headliner between Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev. According to Whittaker, this bout isn’t just a main event; it’s a title eliminator.
Whittaker stated on the MMArcade podcast:
“It’s going to be a contender fight, five-round main event. I do understand the task at hand. It’s going to be hard. I’m going to be grinding my ass off this camp. I’m looking forward to it. It’s a good thing, after last fight I didn’t have any injuries. The body is good. They offered me the fight. I fought four or five weeks ago at this point, I’m ready. Just give me another one.
“I’m in a great headspace to take another hard fight. I’m looking forward to it. Every hard fight pushes my skills to the next level, and this gets me in line to get the belt back. That’s the goal, isn’t it?”
Robert Whittaker, the Australian fighter, is fresh off an impressive win over Paulo Costa in his previous outing.
He secured the interim UFC Middleweight championship by defeating Yoel Romero at UFC 213 before being declared the undisputed title holder. However, Whittaker lost the belt in his first title defense, suffering a knockout defeat to Israel Adesanya at UFC 243. His rematch effort at UFC 271 also ended with a unanimous loss to Adesanya.
This upcoming matchup surprised Robert Whittaker, who himself expected to return at UFC 305 in Perth, Australia.
“Obviously it’s a bit of a shock because it comes out of nowhere. “I would have assumed UFC was going to hold me in the ranks for the Australia card in August, which is kind of what I was preparing for. But I’m happy UFC have given me this boon. This is my path to the title. This is the way I earn money for my kids. To be able to do that so close — like I’ve said in other episodes, I want to increase my activity. God willing and my body’s healthy, there’s no reason I shouldn’t take this fight. What else am I going to be doing?
“Also, the fact that the fight is in Saudi Arabia, that’s the first time the UFC has been there. So I am pumped to be part of that history. I’ve done that a few times now, and it all gets notched into my legacy. So I have direction now. I have energy, momentum.”
Chimaev returns to competition for the first time since narrowly defeating former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman in a highly contested bout last October, which UFC CEO Dana White deemed a title eliminator. Despite this, the Chechen fighter is now set to face Whittaker in June.
Chimaev boasts an unblemished 13-0 record, including seven consecutive victories in the UFC. That has Whittaker eagerly anticipating this fight.
“I understand he’s a hard fighter. “He likes to grapple a lot. He uses his reach and range to good effectiveness. He’s got knockout power. But honestly, he likes to play the villain against his opponents, but he’s an honorable fighter. We’re going to get in there and have an honest fight. We’re both going to leave it in there. He’s not a quitter, I’m not a quitter. So I’m looking forward to really making history in Saudi Arabia.”
UFC Saudi Arabia is set for June 22 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.
