UFC Saudi Arabia, Whittaker Demolishes Aliskerov in the first
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, The Reaper” is still very much a part of the championship conversation at Middleweight after a statement making first round knockout.
Robert Whittaker believes he’s the best Middleweight in the world and that’s why there was no hesitation in accepting the matchup with Ikram Aliskerov when Khamzat Chimaev was forced to withdraw due to illness. A bold statement by the Aussie backed up by a right hand split Aliskerov’s guard catching the Russian on one leg as he looked to be firing a knee. The wobbled Aliskerov skirting the cage is met by and dropped from a “Bobby Knuckle’s” uppercut. Left hands finish off Aliskerov. Back to back wins have it a real possibly that Whittaker could be the alternate for the UFC Middleweight title fight between Dricus Du Plessis & Israel Adesanya scheduled for UFC 305.
Alexander Volkov has now won four in a row and the number five ranked Heavyweight will be climbing after a decisive decision win over the number three ranked Sergei Pavlovich. Volkov stuck to his game plan of utilizing his reach advantage keep the power puncher at the end of a destructive jab. Pavlovich leaking blood from nose while wearing a mouse under his left eye.
The demon that’s plagued Kelvin Gastelum reared it’s head this week as his fight with Daniel Rodriguez had to be moved up 15lbs. Gastelum looked like he was fighting someone in a totally different weight class as he stung “D-Rod” with left hands and completed a few takedowns. Gastelum who’s had constant issues with scales offered no explanation in octagon when asked about the situation and instead expressed loved for the company and asked for forgiveness.
Shara Magomedov scored the 11th knockout win of his unbeaten MMA career stopping Antonio Trocoli in the third round. The end to a wild couple weeks for both. Trocoli was the third opponent Magomedov had for this card and he took the fight three days ago. Trocoli had been forced out of his fight in May and then saw his bout for last week canceled when Ikram Aliskerov accepted this card’s headlining duties. Late travel around the world was a major hurdle for Trocoli who went from the airport to weigh-ins. Magomedov, a creative striker, showed improvements to his takedown defense. A well-timed knee followed by a laser of a right hand would send Trocoli into retreat a flurry of offense capped by a left hook finished the contest.
Volkan Oezdemir hung his 13th knockout win on the board turning out Johnny Walkers lights in the first round. Oezdemir used body work to open the head for a left hook hurting Walker before dropping him with a right hook. The ref not able to get in quick enough leads to Walker suffering a full knock as the former title challenger added a final right uppercut.
The fight of the night was all out back and fought slugfest in the pocket that saw Nasrat Haqparast narrowly get the judges nod over Jared Gordon. The ultra-aggressive Felipe Lima moved up a weight class for a short notice UFC debut. Niamov slowed Lima down with wrestling against the fence until he slipped away and took Naimov’s back sinking in the rear naked choke for quite the introduction.
A big right hand early in the fight and five takedowns tilted the scorecards in favor of Rinat Fakhretdinov to get the split decision over Nicolas Dalby. While Kyung Ho Kang was able to get his takedown the striking of Muin Gafrov got the job done causing major damage to Kang’s legs for his first UFC win. The grappling was in favor Magomed Gadzhiyasulov made a successful debut winning the second half of the fight with his grappling to take a majority decision win over Brendson Ribeiro to remain unbeaten. Chang Ho Lee’s diligent body work earned him a split decision win over Xiao Long to win the finals Road to the UFC.
UFC Saudi Arabia Main Card on ABC/ESPN+ (3 p.m. ET):
- Middleweight: Robert Whittaker (26-7) def. Ikram Aliskerov (15-2) by KO (Right Hand, Uppercut & Ground Strikes) 1:49 R1
- Heavyweight: Alexander Volkov (38-10) def. Sergei Pavlovich (18-3) by (29-28, 30-27 x2) Unanimous Decision
- Middleweight: Kelvin Gastelum (19-9) def. Daniel Rodriguez (17-5) by (29-28, 30-27 x2) Unanimous Decision
- Middleweight: Shara Magomedov (13-0) def. Antonio Trocoli (12-4) by KO (Left Hook) 2:27 R3
- Light-Heavyweight: Volkan Oezdemir (20-7) def. Johnny Walker (21-9) by KO (Right Hook & Right Uppercut) 2:28 R1
Prelims Card on ESPN/ESPN+ (12 p.m. ET):
- Lightweight: Nasrat Haqparast (17-5) def. Jared Gordon (20-7) by (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) Split Decision
- Featherweight: Felipe Lima (13-1) def. Muhammad Naimov (11-3) by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 1:15 R3
- Welterweight: Rinat Fakhretdinov (23-2-1) def. Nicolas Dalby (23-5-1) by (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) Split Decision
- Bantamweight: Muin Gafurov (19-6) def. Kyung Ho Kang (19-11) by (30-27 x3) Unanimous Decision
- Light-Heavyweight: Magomed Gadzhiyasulov (9-0) def. Brendson Ribeiro (15-7) by (28-28, 29-28 x2) Majority Decision
- Bantamweight: Chang Ho Lee (10-1) def. Xiao Long (26-9) by (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) Split Decision
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