For the UFC Saudi Arabia event, things went according to plan. The card featured top-ranked talent in multiple weight classes at the top of the order, and a few fights delivered highlight-reel stoppages.
Turki Alalshikh, partially responsible for coordinating this debut event held inside the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, was in attendance Saturday.
With the cameras and spotlight directed right at Alalshikh, he announced his personal desire to host an even bigger event early next year compared to this past Saturday’s debut card. Click here to see Alalshikh speak to UFC commentator Jon Anik and UFC President Dana White via ESPNMMA on ‘X’.
UFC Saudi Arabia: Robert Whittaker vs. Ikram Aliskerov
Australia’s Robert, ‘The Reaper’ Whittaker, showed levels to the fight game as the 33-year-old former UFC middleweight champion made quick work of the highly touted and dangerous Dagestani fighter Ikram Aliskerov. Whittaker scored a first-round highlight reel uppercut knockout over Aliskerov inside the first two minutes of the main event.
The fight started with the two middleweights touching gloves as a sign of respect, and shortly after, both men battled for the center of the octagon. Whittaker teased a few jabs towards Aliskerov, forcing him to step backward.
Aliskerov responded to Whittaker’s pressure with a few attempted front kicks, none of which landed. As they continued to measure the striking distance, Whittaker landed a hard chopping kick on Aliskerov’s lead leg.
The two continued engaging in striking exchanges of lead leg kicks from Whittaker and Aliskerov, looking to counter with a quick jab followed by a straight punch. Aliskerov then changed the tides regarding the battle for the middle of the cage as Whittaker finally began moving backward.
Recognizing the need to change his approach, Whittaker began to feint his entries into the striking exchanges, using his signature blitzing jab as a decoy. These feints proved effective, as Aliskerov started to question the true intent behind Whittaker’s strikes.
Shortly after, Whittaker stung Aliskerov with a straight punch as he countered an attempted knee to his abdomen. This thudding punch left Aliskerov on wobbly legs, to which Whittaker attempted a fight-ending head kick but barely missed.
Aware of how hurt Aliskerov was, Whittaker stalked his opponent as he looked to circle the cage. However, it was too late for Aliskerov as Whittaker set up a flush uppercut to Aliskerov’s chin.
Whittaker’s devastating uppercut to the chin sent Aliskerov crashing to the canvas, desperately struggling to regain consciousness. Whittaker, seizing the moment, followed up with more shots, leading referee Marc Goddard to step in and halt the fight.
With such an emphatic stoppage victory over a dangerous opponent like Aliskerov, one can only assume that Whittaker is close to securing a title shot. The UFC should keep an extra close look at Whittaker potentially fighting Sean Strickland in the co-main event spot at UFC 305 in Perth, Australia, as he took little to no damage in his primary event fight at UFC Saudi Arabia.
UFC Saudi Arabia: Sergei Pavlovich vs. Alexander Volkov
In what many mixed martial arts fans eyes perceive as the two best Russian heavyweights in the sport, Sergei Pavlovich and Alexander Volkov came to fight in the UFC Saudi Arabia co-main event.
No. 5-ranked UFC heavyweight Alexander Volkov displayed a vast gap in striking prowess over the three rounds as he repeatedly jabbed the face of his Russian counterpart, No. 3-ranked Sergei Pavlovich, bloody. Volkov’s length and experience ultimately caused Pavlovich many issues when trying to gauge the striking distance.
Volkov seemingly cruised to a unanimous decision victory over his former training partner and now apparently friend. The storyline leading into their three-round bout involved the two sharing many past sparring sessions and moments in the training room together.
However, the lead-up to this fight was not without its share of drama. The atmosphere turned tense as Volkov, in a bold move, confronted Pavlovich at the UFC’s ceremonial weigh-ins, setting the stage for a potentially explosive showdown.
Volkov asked Pavlovich, “Why did you tell everyone that I was the first who agreed to this?”
Feeling the need to defend himself, Pavlovich responded, ‘I said that I would’ve agreed too.’
This led to a back-and-forth in Russian but was roughly translated as: “You said that you will fight only if I want to; if you said that you didn’t want to fight, I would turn it down,” said Volkov.
Other Results from UFC Saudi Arabia
Main Card:
- (205 lbs.) Johnny Walker vs. Volkan Ozedemir (21-8-0, 1NC): Ozedemir via Decision
- (185 lbs.) Kelvin Gastelum (18-9-0, 1NC) vs. Daniel Rodriguez (17-4-0): Gastelum via Decision
- (185 lbs.) Sharaputdin Magomedov (12-0-0) vs. Antonio Trocoli (12-3-0, 1NC): Magomedov via KO/TKO R3
Prelims:
- (155 lbs.) Nasrat Haqparast (16-5-0) vs Jared Gordon (20-6-0, 1NC): Haqparast via Decision
- (145 lbs.) Muhammad Naimov (11-2-0) vs. Felipe Lima (12-1-0): Lima via Submission R3
- (170 lbs.) Rinat Fakhretdinov (22-2-1) vs. Nicolas Dalby (23-4-1): Fakhretdinov via Decision
- (135 lbs.) Muin Gafurov (18-6-0) vs. Kyung Ho Kang (19-10-0): Gafurov via Decision
- (205 lbs.) Magomed Gadzhiyasulov (8-0-0) vs. Brendson Ribeiro (15-6-0): Gadzhiyasulov via Decision
- (135 lbs.) Long Xiao (26-8-0) vs. Chang Ho Lee (9-1-0): Lee via Decision
Stay tuned for more UFC news and updates via RespectMyRegion
